In a 2013 interview with Stereogum, Potty Mouth bassist Ally Einbinder ’10 expressed discomfort with having her band automatically get labeled as a riot grrrl outfit. She argued: “Slapping the riot grrrl label on us just because we happen to be women playing a type of music that happens to be reminiscent of another era in time seems like a lazy conflation,” then maintained: “Gender does not equal genre!” Fair enough. While Potty Mouth’s upcoming second album SNAFU features women playing the types of confident pop rock/punk that have been associated with male-fronted bands, the lyrics of their songs do not necessarily display the same political bent that riot grrrl bands are known for.
However, measuring the album on its own terms — excluding gender and genre — we find Potty Mouth’s own brand of emotional honesty about the pains of relationships and growing up and staying true to oneself throughout it all. At times, you may long for something with a bit more bite, but when you want to forget about the politics of womanhood and just be a person, Potty Mouth’s confident guitar riffs and energizing rhythms are an excellent escape.
The opening track, “Do It Again,” is a perfect representation of the rest of the album. Opening with a confident guitar riff leading into appealing, silvery vocals from vocalist/guitarist Abby Weems, “Do It Again” sets the stage for a bright, upbeat tone that characterizes most of the tracks on the album. Lyrics like “I really wanna / Yeah I really wanna / Don’t know if I’m gonna / Do it, do it again” also showcase the relatable conflicts examined throughout the album.
Perhaps the most notable song for Smith students would be the sixth track, “Massachusetts.” Potty Mouth formed out of the music scene in Western Massachusetts while Einbinder and drummer Victoria Mandanas ’13 (and third member Phoebe Harris ’11, who is no longer part of the band) were attending Smith. They eventually moved to the West Coast, but their Eastern roots — and their complicated relationship with them — are still represented on the album. “Massachusetts” may resonate with those who have their own complicated relationships with the state as it describes the tension between friends who are content to stay where they are and others who just want to keep going.
While many of these tracks seem to effortlessly represent some of the struggles of youth, their journey to this album did not come easily. According to a press release, after moving to Los Angeles, the band was put off by the stifling expectations of music executives. It was not until they signed with the independent label Get Better Records that they were truly able to make the music that they envisioned themselves creating. They took the opportunity to express these frustrations on the album with the sarcastically titled song “Smash Hit.” The chorus seems to mock those music executives who dictated their vision of what a hit song should sound like. Lyrics like “Super extra ultra special / Fantastic!” and “modern dazzle from a time capsule” mindlessly repeat and soundly denounce the meaningless superlatives and paradoxical expectations that have become the industry standard.
This disavowal of corporate interests also functions to make the rest of the album seem that much more authentic in its emotional honesty. “22,” the album’s lead single, can be read as a genuine alternative to the narratives that popular artists produce. While Taylor Swift’s “22” is a celebration of the freedoms that come with being in your early 20s, Potty Mouth’s version takes a different approach. Celebration is traded for anxiety regarding the consequences of growing older and the conflict between feeling like you should be getting your life together but fearing that you will lose parts of yourself in the process. At the same time, the almost-clichéd worry about falling in love with someone you shouldn’t be, as discussed in “Starry Eyes,” become personalized when we trust that it wasn’t produced to fill some executive’s vision of what consumable love looks like. While tracks “Liar” and “Dog Song” are less successful due to their blunt expressions of straightforward resentment, on the whole, the album is full of catchy, hummable songs that will feel deeply relatable to anyone who has struggled with the process of growing up.
SNAFU is an acronym, standing for the phrase: “Situation Normal All F-d Up.” Fraught feelings about home, growing older, friendships, relationships — they’re not exactly the politically charged narratives you might find in the riot grrrl bands of the ’90s. But they are painfully common and true to everyday life. For Potty Mouth, that may be exactly why they must be sung.
Check out SNAFU by Potty Mouth for an honest perspective on the complexities of everyday life through a pop rock lens. It comes out March 1.
