At their heaviest, Mannequin Pussy pummel with the best of ‘em, frantic guitar tumbling over ruthless, gnarly imagery. Sonic assault (“Cream”) and lyrical flogging (“Kiss”) aside, the band’s also got a penchant for melody: check out the anthemic “Drunk II,” where a guitar solo sails when earlier numbers would fizzle.: With May EP Perfect, the Philly punks push this dichotomy even further. Fuzz menace and sparkling synths sit side-by-side. Frontwoman Marisa Dabice’s harrowing squall propels the walloping title track, while in stark closing ballad “Darling” light reverb and electronic drums soundtrack sincere devotion. At a snarl or a sigh, what keeps Mannequin Pussy grounded is their unrelenting vulnerability.: Written in the studio – a first for the band who prefers to record well-rehearsed material – the project offered a fresh approach to songwriting during a creative lull. “It was very exciting to realize that sometimes it doesn’t take two years to finish writing a song. Sometimes you can finish writing a song in a day,” Dabice tells the Chronicle.: On tour after a year away, Dabice speaks gratefully about the “collective catharsis” of performing. With Perfect, they’ve got the right material for the job. “They want to scream, they want to cry,” she says of the fans turning up to shows. “They want to just feel loud music vibrating in their bodies. So we are so happy to oblige.”
Tue., Oct. 12, 8pm