Screaming Females | Sniffany & The Nits | Junk It
Brudenell Social Membership, Leeds
fifteenth June 2023

Screaming Females convey their extremely explosive indie rock to the Brudenell Social Membership. Andy Brown shares his ideas for Louder Than Warfare.

Like a much-needed wake-up name, typically you simply must see a loud, passionate rock band doing what they do greatest. Marissa Paternoster, Jarrett Dougherty and Mike “King Mike” Abbate have spent the final 17 years blowing audiences away as indie rock titans Screaming Females. It will be truthful to say that they know a factor or two about kicking ass. The three-piece launched their newest studio album earlier this yr with the emotional and satisfyingly cathartic, Want Pathways. I dug the album from the get-go however now discover myself totally and unequivocally hooked. I’ve discovered myself singing the refrain to Brass Bell at alarmingly frequent intervals whereas the wonderful Decoration is on semi-permanent rotation. One of the simplest ways to cope with this type of habit is to face it head-on, so I head all the way down to the Brudenell Social Membership to get my repair.

Bonded by friendship and a shared love of noise-rock, drummer Michael Donnelly and guitarist James Grimshaw make up tonight’s first help act within the type of Leeds-based duo, Junk It. Grimshaw launches right into a closely distorted riff with the unfettered enthusiasm it deserves whereas Donnelly’s wild, near-feral backing vocals are punctuated by shouts of “Oh yeah.” An method and sentiment I very a lot approve of. They go full-pelt from the beginning with admirably reckless, to-hell-with-it vitality that makes the entire thing an absolute blast. “I’m not a person/ I’m not a baby/ I’m in-between” screams Grimshaw like a person who simply put his foot on a spike. Permitting themselves solely transient moments to catch their breath, the extremely energetic duo performs with an infectious sense of glee. Plus, how will you not love a band with a track known as Examined Optimistic For Being A Foolish Goose?

Subsequent up, our near-insatiable itch for rock ‘n’ roll is additional scratched by Sniffany & The Nits. The splendidly named London-based outfit serves up a set effervescent with urgency and relentless vitality. Sister Sniffany gives a magnetic efficiency, inhabiting each twist and switch as she sings and sneers her approach by means of every considerably spikey track. Whether or not singing about Bigfoot or clam chowder, she’s an absolute power to be reckoned with. The band combine gothy guitar textures with punky propulsion as they burn by means of songs from their debut LP, The Unscratchable Itch. Each second is imbued with admirable ranges of full-tilt depth. The breaks are solely utilized when Sniffany spies a tiny caterpillar resting on her garments. Even this little larva is aware of that there’s some first-class punk happening on the Brudenell. Tonight, was my first encounter with Sniffany & The Nits however hopefully not the final.

Screaming Females are a type of acts that simply appear to instinctively know the right way to reduce straight to the guts of rock ‘n’ roll. By rock ‘n’ roll, I don’t imply the drained previous misogynistic mess it typically turns into. I imply, the actually great things. The hair-raising, life-affirming racket that turns your life round within the house of three and a half minutes. Extra particularly, this New Jersey three-piece performs a punk-spirited and emotive sort of indie rock. 2006’s self-recorded debut LP Child Tooth confirmed a band destined to do it. That exact same line-up has earned a popularity as a fiercely explosive reside act. I had the pleasure of seeing them just a few years in the past and am desperate to have my reminiscence refreshed. As quickly as Paternoster’s guitar kicks in on the energetic opening of Ripe, all of it comes dashing again. Oh my!

Approaching like Gish-era Pumpkins, the deliciously heavy Foul Mouth kicks in subsequent. From Paternoster’s heavy-psych solos to the blistering rhythm part, that is impassioned rock at its absolute most interesting. If it by some means wasn’t clear earlier than, Screaming Females aren’t only a nice reside band, they’re distinctive. After a fast shoutout to the workers and the pies (the Brudenell serve a quite good pie), they launch into Brass Bell. It’s massively satisfying to listen to Paternoster belt out the track’s refrain whereas her scream is pure, untempered catharsis. It’s the signal of an excellent band when a track out of your first album is adopted by one out of your newest and so they each tear the ceiling off. Over the course of the set, we’re handled to tunes from Child Tooth, Citadel Speak, Rose Mountain, All At As soon as and Want Pathways. They’ve received a killer discography to plunder at this level.

Tracks from the brand new LP actually shine tonight, from the apt freight-train momentum of Desert Prepare to the brooding sonic exorcism of Let You Go. The interaction between the three musicians is spectacular and instinctive all through, an extremely tight, thrilling and achieved unit. It’s jaw-dropping watching them plough into the wonderful Legal Picture from 2015’s Rose Mountain LP. The trio pulls the whole lot again from the brink earlier than letting it explode in a hail of nigh-on heroic alt-rock glory. It’s been mentioned many occasions however Paternoster actually is an underappreciated guitar hero. The pure euphoria that drips from her fingers as she unleashes a solo on the ace Fairly Okay is spine-tingling. By the point they get to the empowering thundercrack of I’ll Make You Sorry, I really feel like Screaming Females have efficiently re-educated the gang within the methods of rock. Diplomas can be found from the merch desk afterwards.

They end on an actual excessive with Decoration, the track I performed repeatedly on my approach right here tonight. It’s moments like this the place the whole lot appears proper with the world. I thrust my arms up within the air and let each wonderful second of the track wash over me. It’s cathartic in the way in which that each one nice rock ‘n’ roll exhibits ought to be. Like I mentioned earlier than, typically you simply must see a loud, passionate rock band doing what they do greatest. Screaming Females delivered this and a lot extra.

Yow will discover Screaming Females on Fb, Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp.

Junk It are on Fb, Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp.

Sniffany & The Nits are on Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp.

All photographs by Neil ‘Unholy Racket’ Chapman – Fb, Twitter and Instagram.

All phrases by Andy Brown. You possibly can go to his writer profile and browse extra of his critiques for Louder Than Warfare right here.