Perfect Pussy Played Asbury Lanes with Potty Mouth, 8/29/14 (PHOTOS)

Bring The Noise

One of the things I've been kicking myself over since going to Northside Festival in June is that I missed each of the several sets that Syracuse's Perfect Pussy played during that weekend. I was either too far away from whichever venue they were playing or just not in the mood to deal with the crowd that would turn out for such a talked about band. When I saw the announcement that Perfect Pussy would be coming to Asbury Lanes appear on my Facebook feed, I felt redeemed. I'd finally get to check out this band, and I'd get to do it at one of my favorite places.

I convinced CoolMom to join me for the evening. She wasn't necessarily sure that Perfect Pussy would be her thing. We had babysitting lined up, though; so she went with it.

I really like Perfect Pussy's debut LP, Say Yes to Love. I can see how it's not everyone's cup of tea. It's discordant. Lead singer Meredith Graves is almost inaudible above the din created by the band. It's 23 minutes long, and only about 17 minutes of that consists of what could be called actual songs. But I'm drawn to the album's aggression. It's a form of aggression, though, that's free from chest thumping violence. It's more like a geyser of rage and torment spewing from your speakers or headphones. The added physicality of the live show just turns everything up by several orders of magnitude.

Northampton, MA quartet Potty Mouth took the stage before Perfect Pussy. They did a short set featuring songs from their excellent debut LP Hell Bent. They've got a lo-fi pop, 90s-influenced sound that covers a lot of bases I really enjoy. Compared to Perfect Pussy, Potty Mouth's songs are pretty conventionally structured; and lead singer / guitarist Abby Weems has the stage presence of a seasoned performer despite being so young.

There was kind of a long time between sets. Both bands would do just under thirty minutes, so things took on a somewhat more leisurely pace than usual for Asbury Lanes when it came to changeovers. CoolMom got a little fidgety, but the break gave Perfect Pussy lead singer Meredith Graves time to move among the crowd. She made time to chat with just about anyone who approached her and was really friendly and gracious throughout the evening. I, of course, had no reason to expect anything else; but her offstage demeanor does represent a stark contrast to her performance.

When Perfect Pussy did take the stage, they played a roughly 25 minute set that was a storm of noise from beginning to end. Like on the LP, Graves's vocals are mostly buried with the exception of a few -- and I believe strategically chosen -- moments of clarity poking through the squall. Graves was non-stop motion throughout the performance, and her contortions and facial expressions got the band's full message across even as we all strained to make out what she was saying. The set was almost more performance art than simply a rock show.

As the final song ended, drummer Garrett Koloski immediately began packing up his drum set. Guitarist Ray McAndrew and bassist Greg Ambler left the stage. Keyboardist Shaun Sutkus sent out a continuous drone of sound while Graves lay on the stage touching her front teeth which, I think, she bashed with the mic. The crowd filed toward the bar or out into the night as the drone continued.

I don't think Perfect Pussy sold CoolMom, and that's okay. I'd told Meredith Graves earlier in the evening how excited I was for the show. She sheepishly told me that she hoped that the band would live up to my expectations. I hope she sees this. As far as I'm concerned, they exceeded them.

Meredith Graves proved to be one of the most difficult subjects I've ever tried to photograph, but here's what I could manage. Potty Mouth, too. More up at Flickr.

Perfect Pussy, Say Yes To Love, 2014

Album Review

Over the years, on my work performance reviews or even in conversations with co-workers and other people who may not really know me that well, I've gotten the same comment over and over again: "You're so calm. Nothing ever seems to bother you." I'm mystified by this. My family and closest friends would probably be mystified by this as well. While I may present a calm and collected exterior to the outside world, I often feel like my insides are one big ball of nervous energy and, sometimes, even rage. That feeling has only grown as I've gotten older.

That probably explains my growing attraction to noisier, messier music. I still love a lyrically dense, interesting, jangly indie-pop song. Those songs satisfy my mind. They can make me laugh, tear up, or nod my head with recognition. But, lately, I've found that there's just something great about getting punched in the gut once in a while.

On their debut full-length, Say Yes To Love, Syracuse noise punk five-piece, Perfect Pussy, deliver a 23-minute gut punch (Well, maybe not quite a full 23 minutes, but we'll get to that.) that, every time it ends, has me pressing play for just one more shot. The record opens with tape hiss, followed by the jackhammer ice pick of Ray McAndrew's guitar on "Driver." Singer / lyricist Meredith Graves comes in, her talk / shout singing heavily distorted and barely discernible above the storm generated by the rest of the band.

Perfect Pussy follow that template through the record's first four songs. There are snippets of lyrics that come through clearly:  "I have a history of surrender!" "...everything I want before I die." "I can be strong and I can be kind and I can be good to myself..." "I know where I stand." But Graves's voice is more like another instrument in the torrent of noise.

Say Yes To Love's fifth track, "Interference Fits," is the standout. It throws a pretty guitar riff into the mix and recalls Sonic Youth. Again, only fragments of the lyrics are intelligible: "It was amazing, and I almost cried." "Since when did we say yes to love?" The song trails off into something that sounds like tinnitus and flows into "Dig," which -- along with the first incendiary minute and a half of "Advance Upon The Real" -- constitutes one of the record's last two proper songs.

The last three and a half minutes of "Advance Upon The Real" are a respite, just tape hiss or some other white noise. Album-closer "Vii" layers synths, some Graves spoken word, and maybe a jet engine on top of that white noise. For a moment, it's an ear-splitting radio broadcast from somewhere whose signal we eventually lose.

I read something recently lamenting the fact that a great deal of current music writing ignores lyrics, even going so far as to give a pass to terrible ones. I've been guilty of that, I guess. Say Yes To Love is an example, though, of how lyrics are just one part of the overall emotion conveyed by a song. Graves gives away just enough of her words to provide some context, while the band's ferocity lets you know that whatever she's saying isn't coming easily.

It's healthy to get that stuff out, though -- whether you're an artist pouring it out into your own music or a listener having it pulled out of you in album-sized chunks.

Say Yes To Love comes out on March 18th via Captured Tracks.