Mrs. Piss—Self-Surgery

Mrs. Piss
Self-Surgery
Sargent House

Links: Instagram | Sargent House

If The Bacchae had a soundtrack, this would be it—powerful, frightening, ritualistic. Conjuring the chaos, Mrs. Piss’s debut album is an out-of-body experience of delusion and dirt, fueled by two prominent indie rockers. Teaming up with a background of punk, rock, and industrial influences, Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Gowrie create music with tension.

How are we supposed to know that this album would be at a level beyond our own comprehension. And with quick succession, songs waste no time getting to their point and moving on. At first, I thought “To Crawl Inside” would make this album scream of Lydia Lunch references but “Downers Surrounded By Uppers” blows that theory out of the water. This song is one of the more aggressive punk rock statements I have heard in awhile. It’s as if these two had a slumber party with nonstop Kim Gordon and Pain Teen songs blasting all night long. Then, the next day they went into a recording studio sleep deprived, and belted out mind-melting punk fury that goes beyond conventional levels.

But instead of the crash and burn technique, they transform into the song “Knelt,” and a deep reverberating doom that sludges its way into dimensional rock. This is not just an album built on rage, but also an album with nothing left to lose. A song like the self-titled song professes this album in the highest artistic regard. I feel like I stepped into an exorcism.

“We both have so much more to say; so much more pain and anger to express,” said Gowrie. “That said, we also had a lot of fun doing it, not to mention how freeing it is to not give a f-k and to just create.”

I am exhausted from rolling with the punches. The bruises may not heal easily and my ears ooze with the sweat and blood that imminates from Self-Surgery, but dammit if it is all worth every impactful blow and its eye-opening experience.

Mrs. Piss – “Downers Surrounded by Uppers,” (Lyric Video)