The moment we witnessed the explosive riffs issuing forth from the tiny fingers of Screaming Females’ diminutive, Strat-toting frontwoman Marissa Paternoster at The End last May, we forced our way to the merch table and bought the Females’ then-brand-new LP Power Move without hesitation. The Jersey-based psychedelic noise-rock trio swiftly became one of our favorites, and Power Move tided us over until just last week, when Screaming Females released a collection of fiercely catchy indie-rock singles — previously only available on 7-inches and splits — called, fittingly enough, Singles. The EP leans heavily on Paternoster’s caustic shredding and throaty vocal bravado, from the Aztec-sympathizing “Cortez the Killer” to the sticky, Dinosaur Jr.-influenced epic “Arm Over Arm.” Speaking of Dino Jr., frontman J Mascis remarked in a recent video interview that the Females are among his favorite new bands — a comment that the youngsters responded to with great jubilation on their blog (screamingfemales.blogspot.com). Do we have a Dinosaur Jr. Jr. on our hands? Find us a more deserving post-millennial candidate and we’ll concede.
Wed., Feb. 17, 9 p.m., 2010
