What did we do to deserve Screaming Females? The New Jersey trio is not only a constant in an ever-shifting music scene, spinning out album after album of punk anthems with a fiercely independent spirit, while incrementally evolving with purpose. All At Once not only speeds up, but also spans, the band's timeline through sonic adventures that are fuzzy, quiet, expansive, and, in the case of "I'll Make You Sorry," cathartically poppy.
Paired here with a performance video by Lance Bangs (with whom the band shares a long history), "I'll Make You Sorry" sounds like the logical step beyond Screaming Females' excellent "Shake It Off" and "If It Makes You Happy" covers for The A.V. Club. There is an endlessly hummable sheen to "I'll Make You Sorry" that borders on '90s alternative rock, where punk-bop-as-revenge sometimes held sway (right down to the Orange County pop-punk start-stop). But ultimately, this is a Screaming Females joint: Marissa Paternoster's big, chunky riffs are unmistakable, as is the tight rhythm section of drummer Jarrett Dougherty and bassist King Mike.
All At Once comes out Feb. 23 via Don Giovanni.
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