Sounds Like: The bittersweet high note that marks the end of a great band.

What a difference a week can make.  All year, there was no album I was more excited to write about than “Desire Pathway.” I’ve been a scremale fan for years, and was excited to detail how much this album not only encapsulates everything I’ve loved about this band, but how it also sounds like an exciting evolution for them.  I started working on the illustration on 11/27/23, but then, on 12/5/2023, Screaming Females announced their breakup. After 18 years together, they reached they end of the road.

What I planned to write was out the window.  It’s a loss for sure, as Screaming Females were a ferocious band, cut from a hard working, road warrior tradition that has all but dissapeard these days. But, if there is a silver lining here, it’s they are bowing out with their strongest recording to date. Their whole discophrapy is an absolute thrill to listen to, but with “Desire Pathway”  they bring a new lushness to their studio sound. I think part of this is how they are letting “King Mike” Abbate’s bass hold more of the up front sound. The richness of the low end on “Desire Pathway” elevates the whole affair.  It allows for Marissa Paternoster’s guitar to carve out the middle ground with Jarrett Dougherty’s Drums, and in turn allows Marissa’s vocals to tower, literally soaring at times over the music.  

This new depth of sound is in service of some the catchiest songs I’ve heard from Screaming Females. “Desert Train”, “Beyond the Void,” and the opener “Brass Bell” all have incredibly catchy hooks.

“brass Bell” has the chorus that features the repeated vocal “It’s too loud.”  Nobody did loud like this band, and now, with the hole in the music scene left by their departure, they’ve managed to make silence deafening, as nobody can fill the shoes of the Screaming Females. Thank you for the music.

Favorite Track: I currently can’t get enough of “Beyond the Void.”