Screaming Females are a rock and roll trio based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, made up of members Marissa Paternoster, Jarrett Doughtery and Mike Abbate. Formed in 2005, they began their careers performing basement shows in New Brunswick. Since then, they have shared the stage with bands like Garbage, Arctic Monkeys and The Breeders. 

The band has released seven albums so far and they are now back with their eighth, titled Singles Too, a compilation of b-sides, covers and unreleased singles. Clocking in at three minutes and 33 seconds, my favorite track “Pretty Okay” is perfect for anyone who loves badass women and bold guitar riffs. 

Paternoster has explained her creative process while writing songs. “There is a lot to be angry about, but punk taught me that I did not have to languish in despair,” she said. “I could focus all of my anger on my artistic output, which is a healthy way to grapple with life’s frustrations and transform them into something that I can be proud of.”

So if you find decoding the lyrics hard, your best bet is probably going to be calling Marissa up and asking what ticked her off that day. 

In this song, the lyrics are a strung-together mess of statements that don’t seem to make any sense, but that’s okay with me. “Spanking boy is on the whipping post / His features melt into his mouth / While we’re burning down the house / What a puddle of friends we have now.”

Sometimes off-the-wall lyrics make for a more fun song. Focusing on the energy instead of trying to understand what, “You make me feel so enlightened / Like a lady found god in her purse,” could possibly mean leaves more time to jam out as much as your heart desires. 

I can only imagine the emotion this would evict is a positive one, that being said: I hope listening to this song will make you feel like you found god in your purse.

Featured image by Zach M. Anderson; retrieved from Buffablog.