Marissa Paternoster

Peace Meter is the debut solo album from Screaming Females frontwoman, Marissa Paternoster. I have so much respect for her because of her guitar hero level chops, unique voice, and undeniable songwriting ability. Of course, once I found out this had come out, I knew I wanted to give it a try. Unlike the more alternative and grunge-punk sound that Screaming Females presents, this album is quite the change of pace. There's lots of balladry on this record, and some lo-fi and bedroom pop aesthetics as well with some of the drum sequencing and roughly recorded acoustic guitars. On the other hand, this record also boasts some impressively recorded string arrangements that in most cases, greatly increase the pleasant factor. While I don't begrudge any artist wanting to try something new, this presents a few issues for me personally. First, this record sadly doesn't show off Paternoster's ability to write insanely good guitar riffs, as the focus here is more geared to her voice and songwriting. Which leads me to my second issue which is that this new sound does not really provide the best stage for Paternoster's voice. With less angsty music, Paternoster isn't really digging in as much into her delivery which is where I think most of her vocal magic lies. Instead, her voice comes across even more fragile, especially with her signature quivering tremolo.

Despite some wonderfully produced moments, the truth is I'm not really getting hooked into many of the songs here. The opener White Dove is a decent opener which over the course of its four minutes slowly builds, adding more and more layers of arpeggiated synth, string pads, and some sharp, distorted violin wails that are conjured over top. Without a great vocal or guitar hook though, this track falls a little short of making a big impression. The following track Black Hole is a little more rockin' but again is missing that hook that really draws you in. Ironically, it is the Siren like vocal performance in the chorus that I find most off-putting. Moving much further down the line, we have Running; a real exercise in patience as Paternoster repeats the main line incessantly for the track's final minute.

Perhaps my favourite track on the record is Sore. I think Paternoster's voice is best displayed on this track and I also really love the atmosphere of this track. With all the bassy strings, I envision a scene that is set in a sort of desolate desert with soft orange covering the horizon. I also didn't mind the final track Promise which sort of reminds me of a less celestial Enya. I love the sparse percussion on this track, especially the shaker-like sound that counters the deep bass pulses. The string arrangement that closes out the record is also truly beautiful.

Overall, this record just didn't turn out to be for me. In theory, I could get behind something like this, especially since I enjoy the early works of bands like PS I Love You who also have this weird, lo-fi, alternative pop thing going on. However, what's missing for me here are the hooks. There isn't really a stand out guitar phrase on the record, nor a stand out vocal. Instead, Paternoster seems to be putting all the eggs in the songwriting and musical aesthetic baskets, and unfortunately that's heavily hit or miss for me. In any case, I'm happy to see Paternoster experiment and change things up. You best believe I'll still be looking forward to anything she has coming up next.