Screaming Females – Rose Mountain

No sign of let-up for New Brunswick’s Screaming Females, who just can’t seem to gather a pile of irresistible melodies without submerging them in molten guitar heaviosity. Marissa Paternoster (whose voice alone contains enough muscle to leave entire armies reeling in its wake) piles riff upon gargantuan riff and solo upon elastic-fingered solo, making good on Ripe’s promise to “peel the skin raw” and eviscerating all but the most hardy of eardrums. Rose Mountain is their sixth album, and it totally fucking slays.

That’s not to say it’s all face-melting fury: Wishing Well is all dizzy, flowery intricacies that Doug Martsch would happily take under his wing, while Broken Neck sways apprehensively as Paternoster nonchalantly invites us to “swim through the afterbirth”. Still, when it comes to unabashed stoner rock thrills played at amphetamine pace, Screaming Females are miles ahead of the pack. [Will Fitzpatrick]