Squeeze

Album review

On her second album, Sasami (Ashworth) presents a provocative dichotomy: half nu-metal, half folksy, country pop. It starts with the album's cover art inspiration, the Japanese yōkai folk spirit Nure-onna, which has the head of a woman and the body of a snake. "I love that she's this unassuming, beautiful woman washing her hair in the water, and these aggressive, presumptuous sailors will come across her, and she will destroy them," Ashworth has said. "She's a really good symbol for the energy of the songs..." The whole kicks off with the big, heavy, industrial beast (that's Megadeth's Dirk Verbeuren on drums) that is "Skin a Rat": "You sell sex draped in dissonance/ U-Turn stocks up on innocence/ Why does your cheap attention throw me off/ Put me off, get me off, make me want to set it off," Ashworth howls in an indictment of our "hell-fucked" culture. "Say It" alternates an identity disguising Dateline-esque vocal filter and Ashworth's own sweet and soothing voice. "Need It To Work" is so doom and metal you know the bass has to be slung down around someone's knees. Ashworth, who grew up playing the French horn, has said she was drawn into metal as a teen through the genre's fantasy aspects. She also appreciated the crazy-technical musicianship, which is obvious on songs like "Sorry Entertainer"—a brutal cover of the heartbreaking Daniel Johnston track about being a loner, embellished with white-hot guitar licks—and the title track, which is reminiscent of her former band, Cherry Glazerr, all sludgy rhythm and siren guitar. If you loved Sasami's first album and its dreamy fuzz-pop style, there's plenty to love here, too. "Call Me Home" is pretty, country pop (albeit anchored by industrial percussion), and "Tried to Understand" comes on with a Liz Phair vibe. "The Greatest" sports bittersweet guitar tones that swerve and blur all over the place, and the chugging "Make It Right" is delightful: Sasami calls it Fleetwood Crass, "like Fleetwood Mac with a Crass snare beat." Album enders "Feminine Water Turmoil"—an instrumental with classical, high-drama strings—and "Not a Love Song" are otherworldly beautiful. Front to back, Squeeze is recommended for fans of the music for the TV show Yellowjackets. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz