Screamcloud is bringing Cherry-Veen Zine back to our Riot Grrrl roots with the release of their latest EP, The Slums of Your Mind, and we’re loving every second of it. Drawing inspiration from bands such as Screaming Females, Sonic You and Sleater- Kinney, Screamcloud’s lo-fi, grungy tunes are filling a void in my little punk heart.
Screamcloud, consisting of Danielle Lovier on bass and vocals, Joushua Curry on guitar, Charlie McQuiggan on drums and Emily Daly on baritone guitar and vocals, takes us through an eclectic musical journey on this 3 song EP. It starts with the “doomiest, sludgiest” song, In Your Eyes, and then revs up the pace with 275, named after the price of a subways swipe in New York. “A version of Screamcloud existed for a minute in New York, but I definitely consider us a Philly band,” Emily says. The band moved to Philly in 2017 for all the right reasons, citing the sense of community in the music scene as one of the main draws. “ The music scene here is much more welcoming and community based, and that's definitely affected our music even if just because it’s easier for a band to grow and thrive here. There’s that stereotype of the struggling, starving artist, but in reality it’s much easier to be creative when you live in a place that doesn’t require you to spend all your time working just to scrape by.”
"There’s that stereotype of the struggling, starving artist, but in reality it’s much easier to be creative when you live in a place that doesn’t require you to spend all your time working just to scrape by.”
The band has designated themselves with my new favorite genre descriptor, “anxiety rock.” They play songs that address a whole multitude of anxious and uncomfortable feelings. Emily tells me that anxiety plays a huge role not only in the songs she writes, but in being a performing artist in general. I love that Emily is exploring anxiety in the context of performing on stage. This is something that I’ve always wondered about, but no one has ever discussed with me. “Anxiety is definitely a huge them in our music, and for a long time it kept me from being able to play and sing in front of people. Acknowledging it has definitely helped.” The final song on the EP, Let it In, portrays anxiety as a literal monster that follows you around, and how to deal with that in a positive way. “I used to focus on how it held me back in the past, but I’ve come to realize that it can be inspiring because it proves how much I care about music. Even though part of me is incredibly shy and hates the attention that comes with being a frontperson, it turns out the part of me that wants to play music is stronger, and that’s pretty cool.”Check out The Slums of Your Mind here and be sure to come see them play at our CVZ Ortlieb’s takeover on Wednesday, February 26th FOR FREE!!
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