New York – They’ve been a band for about three years now, but they sound and play like they’ve already known what they like way before that, and they like some good stuff. Potty Mouth formed when singer/guitarist Abby Weems was still a junior at a high school in Amherst, MA, and lead guitarist Phoebe, bassist Ally, and drummer Victoria were all at an all-women’s liberal arts college in Northampton. They put the style and trials of their daily lives to music, and have made some super catchy punks tunes on debut album Hell Bent, released this past September.
Potty Mouth played through them all at Glasslands on the most bitterly cold Monday night of the year so far, but the venue was warm with energy, and a good crowd came out. The band came across playful, with Abby happily entertaining with stories of their New Year’s Eve and whatever else between songs before snapping back to playing. They’re really good at keeping a song interesting, with things like fun juxtaposition in
“The Spins” of great freak out string scraping and the boomerang back to collected catchy melody that becomes increasingly uncollected and anxious. Ally’s fingers were flying up and down the neck of her bass on that one too, and Victoria was so steady she made herself engrained into the song so much at times she didn’t seem to exist outside of it.
On other tunes like “Damage,” it was all in the delivery and phrasing of Abby’s husky vocals. There’s no need for deep analyzing of their deadpan, straightforward punk pop songs. Abby sings about what she knows, and it’s things like not regretting making her own choices and that fact that sometime people that initially seem like friends can turn into shitheads. There’s nothing like a direct “you’re a shithead” line to get that point across, and even when calling a jerk out Potty Mouth is poised and together in the song. Therein lies their power. They understand how good it feels to get something off your mind and tell it like it is, and that’s how they rock out.
Philly’s Radiator Hospital, who is on half of Potty Mouth’s tour with them, was also really great, in a way that made it feel like this was their show for a minute. They claimed an impressive draw during their energetic noisy pop set, with a front row full of fans and even more rows back full of friends who knew all the words to the songs. Singer and guitarist Sam Cook-Parrott was bouncy like every day is the best day of his life, because or else. He’s right though, doing exactly what you want to do regardless of what pressures you may feel makes you much happier than being restricted from what you love.
Potty Mouth has a handful more dates in the northeast, and Radiator Hospital has a lot more down the coast and west.
