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| Above: Psycho Mad Sally |
Artist: Psycho Mad Sally
From: Toronto, ON, Canada
Album: How II Survive
Release Date: April 18, 2013
Genre: punk/metal/grunge-gypsy
Songs:
1. Marion Sims - 7/10
2. My Case - 7.5/10
3. World Fits the Kitchen - 9/10
4. Tennessee - 8/10
5. Danger Danger - 7/10
6. Silencium GAG - 8/10
7. Detox - 8/10
8. Johnny's Symptom - 8/10
Overall Score: 7.8
Thoughts:
Psycho Mad Sally's most current album, "How II Survive" is unlike any album I have ever listened to before. Multiple genres of music, like metal and folk for example, are integrated into one sound to make a unique sound, exclusively for this band. With rapid tempo changes, violin playing, and super-raspy vocals, courtesy of lead vocalist Sasha Nevskaya, common on this album (and previous album: 30 Days [To Pay the Rent]), Psycho Mad Sally has their own signature sound.
The first song on the album, "Marion Sims," gives the listener a taste of the blending of multiple genres right off the bat when beginning to listen to the album. The violin is prevalent in this song, which gives it that folky quality. But, in stark contrast, the song shifts gears and with dark electric melodies played on the guitar, the song shifts to a more metal feel. At the end of the song when, "Paralyzed/Blacking out/Want to kill/ Want to die," is sung (very powerfully too), these dark lyrics are accompanied by fast paced heavy instrumentals. Personally, it reminds me of a Slayer meets Bob Dylan scenario.
In the song "My Case", especially, I find that Nevskaya's voice especially sounds like Distiller's vocalist Brody Dalle more than any other song. Both women share similar voices, which adds power and fascination to songs as its rawness draws the listener in. A distinct feature of this song is the double bass drum that sounds after the chorus. This really shows the metal side of Psycho Mad Sally.
Additionally, in "World Fits the Kitchen," Nevskaya features something interesting. In this song (one of my favourite songs of the album) there are vocals spoken in Russian, Nevskaya's, a part of her native heritage. This, along with a couple of other songs off the album featuring a tiny bit of Russian, (such as "Silencium GAG") adds a personal touch to the music since the listener gets a feeling of this members roots. Moreover, "World Fits the Kitchen" has a punk-feel. The song starts off at a moderate speed and eventually picks up to a rapid speed at the chorus. The tempo change keeps the song interesting and keeps the listener surprised when the change happens. The best metaphor for this is like being on a roller coaster blindfolded, with drops and changes happening unexpectedly, bringing the listener excitement and pleasure. Psycho Mad Sally has even made a music video for this song as well.
"Tennessee" and "Danger Danger" have a gothic touch. The violin is more prevalent in these songs, however, not played in a folk style. This really shows the diversity of the band and what the violin itself could to. In these songs, there is also a lack of pace change, but instead male back up vocals are added to "Danger Danger".
"Detox" features a lovely bass introduction and more noticeable violin. It's as if folk music were human and drank too much Monster energy drink - the fast and the folkiest. However, the word "folk" (well, gypsy) is being used very lightly as it is only an infusion rather than the overpowering sound in the genre.
Lastly, "Johnny's Symptom" is really neat in the way that the lyrics are a story of a bitter man named Johnny. It's rare for the majority of songs these days to have a specific storyline to them but this one broke the mold.
It seems that Psycho Mad Sally is breaking the mold of music in general with every song they play and release. In general, I was very satisfied with this band and am surprised they are not more widespread because they deserve it.
Click here to purchase "How II Survive": http://psychomadsally.bandcamp.com/
Check out the band's official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/psychomadsally?fref=ts
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