Photos by Allen Ying.
Hailing from the City of Angels, The Paranoyds —Staz Lindes, Laila Hashemi, Lexi Funston, and David Ruiz — are heaven-sent. With packing an unfaltering riot-grrrl-esque punch on every release, this powerful four-piece have honed in on just what we consumers have been hungry for: musical rejection of the status quo.
Their debut record, Carnage Bargain (released September 13, 2019 via Suicide Squeeze) takes jabs at mainstream societal flaws and tells precautionary tales regarding being a badass woman in a world that’s unforgiving, all whilst abandoning typical genre conventions. In creating “a raucous blend of garage rock grit, new wave swagger, and horror film soundtrack campiness” (as described via their Bandcamp), the band’s creative gall (and bluntly bold energy) is allowed to shine.
Today, the band released their comeback single, “Memory Foam.” Noted as an “unearthed outtake” from Carnage Bargain, this track joins psychedelic riffs, hypnotizing keys, and an accusatory tone with a hint of cowbell. One thing’s for certain: even if they’re a little paranoid, they aren’t afraid to instill a riot. They’re tough, they’re sleazy, they’re mean, and they don’t give a damn — which is why we give a damn about them.
For anyone who has yet to listen to you guys, how would you introduce them to The Paranoyds? What should they know about you guys—as people and musicians?
I would show them some of our music videos—like “Girlfriend Degree” or “Carnage Bargain.” You can learn a lot about us through that! And coming to see us live is one big party.
The LA music scene, from an outside perspective, can seem pretty cutthroat — do you guys feel that way? How coming up in a scene like that impacted your growth and success as musicians?
It can be discouraging as there is a ton of competition but if you are persistent, genuine, and work super hard, you’ll most likely earn respect. It doesn’t necessarily happen right away at all. It can take years. Being nice doesn’t hurt either!
You guys channel a great concoction of punk, garage rock, and classic riot-grrl — If you could describe your sonic inclinations and influences in your own words, how would you?
We like to write exciting things that challenge us. We don’t want to write something you’ve heard a million times. And we happen to be girls (besides David’s buff ass drumming)
I’m also curious to know which artists and bands you’ve been listening to lately!
Crumb, Love Fiend, CUMGIRL8, French Vanilla, Kevin, Oatmeal, Gustav
When going about writing Carnage Bargain, did you guys have any set goals or motivations in regards to what you wanted fans to take away?
We wanted it to spark something—whether that’s picking up an instrument to try and learn the parts, leaving the house and coming to see us play, or dancing. We wanted to keep the tracks exciting and consistent and to not have any “filler/skippable” tracks.
The record’s title track is poignantly accusatory, and it’s totally justified. Considering the current state of the world, especially over here in the States, how important would you say is it for artists with a platform to utilize said platform?
I think anybody born with natural privilege that can stick up for minorities absolutely needs to utilize that. This goes for artists and everybody else. We can always do more and it’s something that is very important to us.
You guys are set to head out on the road this month through February which is really exciting (especially since you’re being joined by Spendtime Palace)! In lieu of playing the new record and older classics live, what can audiences expect from a Paranoyds live show? Utter chaos?
You never know what’s gonna happen at our shows! We get unplugged, Staz practices her standup routine in between songs, and someone sprayed off a whole bottle of Febreze in the pit at one of our last shows. We like to keep it interesting and unpredictable. We’d really like to encourage people to catch the crowd surfers!
It’s a tired discussion topic, but being a group of young people entering a rock scene that’s been often described as “dead,” there’s a lot of criticism being thrown around. For people who think rock is dead and who haven’t opened up their ears, what would you have to say to them?
“Dead” can be applied to basically every genre from the 20th century. If you think rock is dead then you probably aren’t into the type of music we make. Which is coo,l bruh. 2020 is about freedom of choice.
With the future in mind, what’s in store for The Paranoyds in 2020?
SXSW, hopefully a spring Euro. tour, releasing a song in March, more shows more tours yadda yadda…
You can keep up with The Paranoyds on Instagram
