Album of the week: 5.3

Screaming Females

Ugly

(2012)

why you'll love it: Amazing guitar solos, best American rock band today

why you'll hate it: Diminishing returns from the last album

I wasn't going to write this today, but I need to take the edge off while watching this Devils v Rangers game. Don't have to say much about this band. The trio plays loud and powerful straightforward garage rock and roll. The guitar playing has to be heard to believe; and the diminutive frame that is doing all the shredding and yelling has to be seen to believe.

If this is your first taste of the band, you're going to be floored. As someone who got into the band with Power Move (2009), Ugly seems to lack a little bit of the personality and "umph" their previous releases have. I don't know if it's the way it's mixed, or a subtle songwriting change, or maybe I'm too used to their formula by now. I like every song, but only some a bit more than the others. There isn't much there that separates one song from another. It's just like one big booming jam session.

Surprisingly, it's the radio friendly pop songs I enjoy more than the big evil rock numbers. "Rotten Apple" and "Help Me" are fine tuned and catchy without sacrificing much of the band's crusty delivery. Same for the strings in the closing song "It's Nice". The only production surprise here sounds great, and makes me think of the orchestra backed version of Rocket From The Crypt's Scream, Dracula, Scream that never happened.

If you want your big crushing rock, Screaming Felmales still packs it. "Tell Me No" feels like an old school track, complete with a trademark Paternoster scream. The single track, "Doom 84" delivers enough rock to power the entire album, if it needed to. A few cuts to this 54 minute album may have helped relieve some of the diminishing returns I felt, but my opinion remains unchanged: if you like guitar rock, it's a damn shame not to give this band a shot.