Screaming Females

OK, so for those of you not yet in the know, the Screaming Females are a band from New Brunswick, NJ. Their name is not entirely apt, however, as there is only one female in the band; however, she does indeed scream (though not too often). This band is really good. The closest comparison I can make would be Sleater-Kinney, but the Screaming Females are a bit more crunchy/bluesy/noisey.

The band is fronted by Marissa -- the singer and guitarist. She has quite a unique voice -- it's extremely powerful, but it can swerve into Mecca Normal-esque warbles or throat-wrenching screams á la Bikini Kill.

Power Move is the band's third album, and probably their best. It opens up strongly with "Bell," the catchiest song on the record. Rather than describe it, I'm embedding a video below. As the album moves on with "Sour Grapes" and "Skull," Marissa's guitar mastery starts to shine through. To keep the Sleater-Kinney parallel going, if their last album, What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? resembled the self-titled debut, Power Move has riffs worthy of The Woods.

The album is also very consistent. There are no bad songs. Smartly, the band bookends the record with the best songs -- "Bell" to start the A side and "Buried in the Nude," a creepy and noisy screech-fest, to close out the B side.

Basically, this is an awesome album, and you should all buy it. And definitely try to catch them on tour -- they put on a great show.