Bored & Extremely Dangerous

   My first interaction with Screaming Females involved a strawberry themed party outside of my college library. The NYU Strawberry Festival.Some guy dressed as a strawberry was stage diving as I stared confusedly at what was transpiring onstage. At the time I dismissed the New Brunswick, NJ group as being “too weird” or “trying too hard to be weird” or some sort of vague close minded comment like that. But oh how wrong I was! Screaming Females most recent release Castle Talk is the group’s fourth full length album following 2009’s well received Power Move.

   The New Jersey trio features Jarret Dougherty on drums, Mike “King Mike” Rickenbacker (he plays one) on bass, along with Marissa Paternoster on vocals and guitar. They list their influences as “Spooky things, undersea creatures, the cretaceous period, and postmodernism”, while they have been known to sound like “huge dinosaurs”. So with all of those technical terms in mind, Castle Talk begins with the introductory track “Laura and Marty”. It really does feel like a new introduction not only to the band, but to the themes and sounds of the record. It does feel like a bit of a departure from the band’s earlier raw material. We are introduced to Paternoster’s wavering yet cuttingly confidently voice, or scream rather. In her voice is part Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane),part Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), coupled with some of that Riot Grrrl aggression; but in the end it really is unique and completely refreshing in a scene where sounds are seriously starting to blend together.

   Castle Talk continues into the incredibly catchy “I Don’t Mind It” which seems to be the most “accessible” Females tune at this point. As simple as it is, it succeeds wildly as an anthemic sing-along. Immediately the tone is shifted into the somber sounding reflective “Boss” which is a personal favorite. We are also introduced to King Mike’s glossy sliding bass lines at the beginning of this track. Throughout the record he can always be heard clearly to contrast Paternoster’s crunching leads. With chords and dizzying walking lines, the bass plays an incredibly crucial part in Screaming Females and rarely follows root notes or the lead of the guitar. Unlike some famous pop-punk trios (not pointing any fingers here), the bass is treated the way it should be, as a separate melodious entity, not simply as a back-up for a supposed “full sound”.

   Paternoster’s guitar work is really something to behold, and I’m sure I could write paragraphs upon paragraphs about each solo and intricate lead. Her tone is fitting for each catchy riff, yet her playing never drowns out the bass, something I can sure appreciate! Dougherty’s drums are so solidly simple, there are no complaints whatsoever. With the sound that the group seems to be going for, I think the simple yet subtle drums are the correct choice to make in order to avoid songs that feel bogged down with busyness.

    The record pushes on with the rather ominous galloping garage anthem “A New Kid”, the haunting yet beautifully composed “Wild”, and the furious “Sheep”. “You count sheep with anyone, yeah anyone would do…” Paternoster professes. Lyrically, Castle Talk feels extremely personal as she tells of relationships and tales in a very honest way that cannot be totally explained. There is a sense of uncertain control in Paternoster’s songwriting, a feeling that she simply won’t be taken as a fool while she still has her own weaknesses, desires, and downfalls. “‘Cause I could cut the cord with you any day, I don’t need you to remind who’s the boss”, is a prominent example of her lyrical directness that successfully avoids any cliché or repetitiveness. The theme and mood of the record feels nicely balanced, while the echoing acoustic number “Deluxe” stands out quite a bit in a great way. It reveals to us a bit more of the bare bones Screaming Females, without the bass, the distortion, or the scream.

    I have very few criticisms of Castle Talk, but I do partially feel that the track list is a bit top heavy. With hard hitting catchy songs coming quickly in the early minutes (“I Don’t Mind It”, “Boss”, “Normal”, “A New Kid”), the second half of the album sometimes hits the occasional lull after the fifth track. Also at times I felt like I missed some of the older Females sound from earlier LP’s which felt a bit rawer, heavier, and slightly less “produced” I suppose. But every young band changes and matures of course, and I think the dynamic new record is the perfect direction for the group. The good news is that Paternoster sounds as belligerent as always through her hypnotizing vibrato. If you’ve become particularly bored and unimpressed by some recent “punk” releases, Screaming Females are worth at least a listen. I may not be able to predict where they might be headed in the next ten years, but you can certainly count on them making a continually massive impact on the independent scene. That much I can guarantee.

8/10