More than enough to get you your pop punk fix

“There are ways to fix a broken sound with my head in the sky and my ear to the ground‰” belts Marissa Paternoster on the track “Burning Car‰” from Screaming Female‰’s sixth album Rose Mountain. Her head remains firmly planted in the sky throughout as Rose Mountain exudes confidence through loud, upbeat punk, although not so much angry punk as it is a ballsy slightly disenchanted punk who‰’s main purpose is to assert its self-ownership and independence. Even when there is a moment of vulnerability on the slightly more toned down “Hopeless‰” with the tongue-in-cheek “I‰’ll follow all your orders and you can have all of me,‰” Screaming Females hit back with the self-defense of “I‰’m not hopeless, helpless or begging you to stay/ It‰’s just turning out that way.‰” The album starts out strong with the speedy and infectious, yet aggressive riff of “Empty Head‰” and continues with an unrelenting rock pulse, though cutting back on a lot of the fuzz that was on their previous releases. Overall, it‰’s just a really fantastic, solid rock album and one of the best new releases of the year so far.

RIYL: Sleater-Kinney, Waxahatchee, Wild Flag

Recommended Tracks: 1, 3, 7