I Want To Destroy Everything That’s Mine

The Scary Jokes “Catabolic Seed”

The Scary Jokes’ Liz Lehman reminds me of a young Kevin Barnes with her seemingly effortless gift for melody, tendency of tying her songs together into long suites, and focus on writing about her emotional state with great precision and a high level of self-awareness. Like Barnes, Lehman’s lyrics have this cutting critical tone, whether she’s writing about herself, or her feelings about someone else. I like the way this contrasts with the girlish timbre of her voice, and suggests that you’re listening to the musical equivalent of an unusually eloquent teenage diary. “Catabolic Seed” is essentially about trying to pull yourself together after getting rejected by a crush, feeling frustrated by chasing fantasies, and just having poor luck in general. But Lehman’s words dig a bit deeper than that, and tip back and forth between self-loathing and reasonably decent self-esteem. You can hear that tension in the music too, as the colorful keyboard tones and the crisp snap of the beat suggest an assertive quality that is at odds with – but does not undermine – the self-crimination in the lyrics.

Buy it from Bandcamp.