Sharkmuffin: Jagged, Riotous Power Pop (Archives)

In film, they call it the "meet cute" - the moment when two strangers lock eyes and ignite a cinematic classic. In music there isn't necessarily a name for a band's formation or meeting, but that instance can inform the group's music just as deeply. For Brooklyn's Sharkmuffin, their "meet cute" occurred July 4, 2012 at a beach house that was later destroyed by Hurricane Sandy - a possible reason why the band's music is visceral, explosive, sharp and a little dangerous. Tarra Thiessen (guitar, vocals, theremin, pocket piano) and Natalie Kirch (bass, vocals, claps) make up the core of the band, with frequently-rotating drummers. [Counting from their album artwork, an illustration of themselves and all of the drummers to have played with the group, they've employed 13.] One of these drummers was Death Valley Girls and Hole's Patty Schemel who recorded on their latest and first full-length LP, Chartreuse. 

The album has the punk attitude of the riot grrrl movement and the musicality of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It covers gritty and very real subjects: first dates, favorite colors, violent emotions felt on Mondays and even feminine products. Some songs might provoke laughter just from their titles, like "Tampons Are For Sluts" and "Mermaid Sex Slave," but Sharkmuffin is dead serious. Hear them perform their short slap-in-the-face songs live in-studio. 

Setlist

• "Chartreuse"
• "Mondays"
• "First Date"