By Ron, Everett Public Library staff
Like a crisp newly-minted road map, the music of 2018 unfolds before our eyes leaving a wake of paper cuts and indecipherable allusions. Welcome to: More the best of 2018 (so far)!
The first thing one might notice about Screaming Females is that only one-third of the band is female. Were I to describe them in one word, that word would be HEAVY. Distorted guitars, hard rock riffs, vocals that bring to mind Ann Wilson. Screaming Females does not enter the realm of sludge nor are they simply hard rock, but there is a certain weight that permeates the music of their 2018 release All at Once.
From the Bunyanesque opening chords of Glass House to the spine-blowing mammothness of Agnes Martin (a song about an American abstract painter) to the angular punkosity of Fantasy Lens, you could say that SF deliver the musical goods in a hefty bag filled with delight. But don’t get the idea that these two mute fellas and one screaming gal have only a single note in their bag of picks (see what I did there?); their music moves effortlessly in and out of a variety of feels and genres. In the words of Thomas Alva Edison, it’s good when a band is hard to pigeonhole.
If you like a hefty sound filled with hoo-ha and hullabaloo, you could certainly do worse than All at Once. This seventh album by an unknown-to-me band, fronted by a singer/guitarist I’ve never heard of who has been named the 77th greatest guitarist of all-time by Spin magazine, is definitely a standout in 2018. So far. As always, check it out.
In an unintentional gender-solidarity pick, Goat Girl (Goat Girl, Screaming Females; get it?) delivers another more-the-best-of-2018-(so-far)! album with their self-titled debut.
The music is genre-defying: cavernous reverb, country-tinged riffs, jazz noir vocals… These elements combine to create a dark goth-like palette filled with down-home fiddle licks and a free ticket to the rodeo of the undead.
It’s hard to describe music that’s like nothing one’s ever heard. Take the song Cracker Drool. The opening features a simple, typical country bass line. Drums with an equally simple country backbeat, sparse faux pedal steel guitar and good-ol’-girl vocals complete this simple song. But wait! Simplicity is quickly engulfed by a driving, dissonant section that just as quickly disappears. This pattern more or less repeats and we think we’ve got the song figured out. Mais non! Suddenly the tempo and feel change dramatically, although the riffs stay fairly constant, and after a bit of this the song ends. Not at all typical.
And Cracker Drool is unlike any other song on the album. Variety is king. Sounds ranging from riot grrrl to swamp blues to indie rock with a country fiddle permeate this brilliant debut. So get out the excessive eyeliner, saddle up and discover aural worlds never dreamed of with Goat Girl. As always, seat belts are recommended.
2018 has already brought us a mix of pleasant, even brilliant albums. Stay tuned to the future for more excursions into the best of 2018 (so far)! Time machines are optional.
Visit the Everett Public Library for more reviews and news of all things happening at the library.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
