No one knew in early 2023 that Desire Pathway would be Screaming Females‘ final full-length album. The band decided to call it quits late last year and have since only released one five-song EP (Clover). I haven’t read or heard any official reasons for the band’s dissolution, but it seems to be an amicable decision from a band who’d been one of the champions of the DIY method since their inception. Desire Pathway‘s title might have been a clue to what the band was thinking, as perhaps they each desired a different path to walk for a while. The cover art by guitarist and singer Marissa Paternoster depicts a city jammed with buildings and teeming with activity while open paths (or perhaps rivers) divide the city into sections and offer peaceful escapes from the chaos around them. Perhaps that’s what she, Mike Abbate (bass) and Jarrett Dougherty (drums) wanted – a nice path to walk so they could get away from the chaos of being one of the hardest working touring bands in the U.S.
Starting with the slow build of what sounds like a synthesizer found in a thrift store, “Brass Bell” kicks off Desire Pathway with growling energy that comes at you like an overstimulated orange cat. “I’m living in a brass bell. It’s too loud!” Paternoster sings, again a possible clue to the pressure / grind the band was feeling back then. “Desert Train” races by you like its namesake as Paternoster sings, “I know this feeling, tied to the road. I’ll get high ’til I explode.” and puts down one of her signature ripping solos. On “Let You Go,” she sings, “If I could explain it, how black turns into blue. Now the stage is empty and I am, too.” The signs are right there that she was tired. She and her bandmates weren’t tired of jamming, however, as all of three of them click well on the track. Dougherty’s drumming is especially crisp on it.
“Beyond the Void” is a beautiful love song, the kind Screaming Females do so well – singing about the blissful and sometime frightening parts of love while putting down solid rock licks and bright bursts of sound. “Mourning Dove” is a good example of their “sad” love songs, as Paternoster knows her lover is going to leave soon and there’s nothing she can do about it.
“It’s All Said and Done” has lyrics back to their punk roots as they take a swing at government overreach (“No one’s safe. The state will surround you. When they come, here’s what they’ll say: Trust in the dream, don’t deny. Time says it can be yours.”). Paternoster’s guitar work on “Ornament” is so deft that you almost miss it. It seems subtle at first, but you realize how skillful it is when you listen close.
On “So Low,” Paternoster practically begs a lover to not reject her. It’s a modern day blues song without a single blues lick in it. “Let Me into Your Heart” is in a similar vein, but with heavier hits from Abbate’s chugging bass and Paternoster’s lyrics reflecting how her lover bears some responsibility in all of this for a lack of willingness to fully embrace her (“I know the mess I made, admit that I’m afraid. You’ll never let me into your heart.”).
The album closes with “Titan,” which contains what might be the biggest clue to the band’s decision to give it a rest in the first verse: “You smoked beside the stage, with the can in your hand, then you said to me, I’m tired. Please make it true and do what I, I have asked of you.” She and her bandmates weren’t the only ones who needed a break, so did their families and lovers. So, they end the album with a sizzling, growling, heavy-hitter that has some of Abbate and Dougherty’s best rhythm work on the record.
Desire Pathway was a good one to leave on the path for us fans. Screaming Females never put out a bad record. You can start anywhere in their catalog and be amazed. I hope their new paths lead to great(er) things.
Keep your mind open.
[I desire that you take the pathway to the subscription box.]