Photo Credit: Gina Canavan
Los Angeles four-piece The Paranoyds will release their incredible debut album Carnage Bargain next month, and today they share the record’s third single and hard-hitting album opener, “Face First.” Kicking off the album with the sound of an alarm-a squealing two-note guitar line of alternating half-tones that pierces the air like a siren-before a build-up on the drums leads into the track. As the band bangs out their hybrid of ear-worm melodies, econo punk, and off-kilter skronk, guitarist/vocalist Lexi Funston croons about watching other people’s private lives unfold on our phones.
Listen to the song, watch the video, and read more about its inspirations now via Consequence of Sound.
The Paranoyds have made a name for themselves as one of the most exciting Los Angeles bands since forming in 2015, playing festivals like Coachella and touring with the likes of DIIV, White Reaper, Albert Hammond Jr., Sunflower Bean, Tacocat and BRONCHO. Now the band finally prepares to release their long-awaited debut album, Carnage Bargain-a raucous blend of garage rock grit, new wave swagger, classic horror film soundtrack campiness, and a myriad of other left-of-center influences – out on September 13 via Suicide Squeeze.
Pre-order HERE. The Paranoyds will support Bleached and White Reaper on tour this Fall, and announce some additional headline dates today. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.
“We’re living in the dystopian future. Our lives are completely tracked and programmed, our extension of ourselves is a handheld computer with a microphone and camera that stays on while were unaware, and, on top of everything, the extreme right is gaining continuous world power,” The Paranoyds explains of its name. “What isn’t there to be paranoyd about?”
It’s ironic that the band’s moniker winds up being an apt summary of the band’s general outlook on technology and modern culture given that The Paranoyds‘ humble beginnings can be traced back to a friendship forged between Staz Lindes (bass/vocals) and Laila Hashemi (keys/vocals) over Myspace in their early teens.
Bonded by a shared interest in local underground music, the pair eventually moved their online friendship into the real world. Laila’s childhood friend Lexi Funston was brought into the fold with the addition of drummer David Ruiz in 2015. The band may indeed be paranoid, but they offer a solution to our modern ills through the simple act of being an inspiring, independent, and unflappable musical force.
