It’s been 5 years since Model Pussy launched their critically-acclaimed album Persistence, which proved simply how versatile and unapologetically intense these Philly punk rockers could possibly be. From good break-up anthems like “Drunk II” to screaming ragers like “Cream,” the band ventured past the noise rock heard in Fishtown dive bars to jot down gorgeous songs with tons of emotional energy. Since then, Model Pussy — which is comprised of singer Marisa “Missy” Dabice, drummer Kaleen Studying, bassist Colins “Bear” Regisford, and newly added guitarist and keyboardist Maxine Steen — scratched the pandemic itch for a brand new Model Pussy report with 2021’s EP Good.
On the extremely anticipated I Received Heaven, they’ve utterly leveled up, enmeshing lush synth sounds into their brash punk sensibility. Nowhere is that this extra outstanding than on the title observe. The track is available in scorching with rage at Christian hypocrisy, earlier than splitting right into a meditative self-love mantra. It’s refreshing, radical, and fearless as Dabice growls, “What if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch?”
On earlier albums like Persistence and 2016’s Romantic, Model Pussy used anger as a blueprint. However on their latest LP, it’s as a vessel to discover the depths of loneliness and want. “I Received Heaven is the eager for one thing new and thrilling,” Dabice instructed Rolling Stone final 12 months. “There’s a pervasive feeling of longing and horniness to it.”
Album spotlight “Loud Bark” expertly straddles rage and lust, as Dabice declares her indomitable ferocity: “Not a single motherfucker who has tried to lock me up/May get the collar ’spherical my neck,” she spits in a killer opening line. In opposition to a grungy riff, Dabice shares her contradictory should be “adored” and feared as she sings, “I’m a waste of a lady, however I style like success/I hold all of my sugar the place I do know you prefer it greatest.” The track builds right into a deafening crescendo as Missy screams the refrain till she is absolutely unleashed.
In the meantime “OK? OK! OK? OK!” and “Aching” step into wild, wailing territory; on the previous, Bear takes over vocals to yell in opposition to Studying’s insistent drums concerning the fucked up state of the world. These moments floor Model Pussy of their punk roots. However the way in which Steen’s glossy synth traces slither by way of I Received Heaven creates an fascinating distinction. Including one other layer to their sound, singles like “Nothing Like” and “Generally” are stuffed with mushy guitars that might simply soundtrack a cult-favorite romantic comedy from the Nineties.
Model Pussy’s lyrical prowess is on full show with I Received Heaven. In “Inform Me Softly,” they tuck poetic traces a couple of lover right into a gritty observe: “Daylight it brings/Revelations about your arms, your lips, your coronary heart.” Such a sentiment virtually feels prefer it wouldn’t match right here, however as a result of the remainder of the album is so intense, the sense of optimism is welcome and earned. With album nearer “Break up Me Open,” I Received Heaven lands one ultimate tender punch with traces like “I’m apprehensive I would like you with the facility of a thousand suns burning as one” suspended within the verse. Written within the afterglow of an acid journey, in keeping with the band, it’s a dreamy soundscape within the vein of Persistence’s “Who You Are,” however on an entire new degree with deeper sonic dimensions highlighting Dabice’s delicate falsetto. It’s the sum of what occurs when Model Pussy throw uncooked feelings on the canvas and step again to discover a glistening show of human longing.
