Screaming Females

A Screaming Females CD was delivered to my desk when I worked at a local radio station. An unabashed riot grrrl fanatic, I hosted a weekly show that juxtaposed yelling, pissed-off variations on Kathleen Hanna with '60s girl groups harmonizing about how much they wanted to get married. So maybe...

By Becky Bartkowski

September 2, 2010

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A Screaming Females CD was delivered to my desk when I worked at a local radio station. An unabashed riot grrrl fanatic, I hosted a weekly show that juxtaposed yelling, pissed-off variations on Kathleen Hanna with '60s girl groups harmonizing about how much they wanted to get married. So maybe it was the name that got me. Or it could've been the cover: Power Move looks like R. Crumb's take on a post-everything girl group being sucked into a black hole. Whatever it was that piqued my interest, I played the record, not quite knowing what to expect (like, whether or not there were really females in the band who do, in fact, scream) while not trying to get my hopes up too, too much. What I heard was a Jersey punk power trio with a singer-guitarist whose low, weighty vibrato plays perfectly against her penchant for shredding. It turns out that vocalist Marissa Paternoster is the only female in the band and, if the logic follows, the sole screamer, backed by two guys, Mike Abbate and Jarrett Dougherty, on bass and drums respectively. They're set to release their fourth full-length record, Castle Talk, this month. It features the Sleater-Kinney-esque "I Don't Mind It," with psyched-out, beachy guitars that could almost pass as backing for The Go-Go's.

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