Teen Suicide essentially released half of their discography within the span of a year back in 2011 and 2012 with their early-career series of noise-pop EPs, though every dispatch we’ve heard from Sam Ray and Kitty since then has come out of left field. Even looking beyond the blissed-out indie pop and dread-inducing dark-ambient noise they released during a brief stretch as American Pleasure Club—or even either individual artist’s various solo endeavors—their two most recent Teen Suicide releases have been stuffed to breaking point with ideas spanning the lo-fi bedroom recordings of the project’s origins to well-polished electro-pop experiments.
Enter: Nude Descending Staircase Headless, perhaps the duo’s most consistent collection of songs in over a decade as it works from a certain heavy-rock palette extending from Steve Albini’s world of noisy post-hardcore up through the recently resurrected nu-metal period. Lead single “Idiot” introduced the record’s sound with a riff-heavy and deceptively snakey noise-rock cut led by Ray’s snarling vocals and lyrics putting a horse on blast before admitting to recognizing himself in the calm facade of the “drooling idiot.” It also happens to be one of the record’s best arguments in favor of Teen Suicide’s newly launched studio era, with the tough guitars and crisp percussion of the instrumental intro feeling like a sobering departure from the bedroom-pop recording haze of previous efforts.
Before the record drops this Friday via Run for Cover, Sam and Kitty took turns sharing a few reference points for the album, which range from the proto sludge of Melvins to the emotive pop environments of Christina Aguilera (both Kitty picks). Check out their full list of selections below, and pre-order Nude Descending Staircase Headless here.
Melvins, “A History of Bad Men”
Kitty: When I first got hired as a stripper, I already had my stage playlist picked out and this song was at the top of my list. Absolutely legendary song for stripping, especially if your DJ will run all seven minutes of the track. My goal as an artist is to create music for my former coworkers that goes crazy in red lighting, so I had this in mind when writing.
Yo La Tengo, “Tom Courtenay”
Sam: Yo La Tengo remain probably my favorite band active today, at least if you forced me at gunpoint to choose one. Seeing them play this song last year really fucked up something in my heart. Their ability to take a perfect three-minute song and stretch it out into punishing psych-freakout nonsense is incredible. Like if Melvins were a college rock band.
1905, “Fall”
Kitty: I will never forget the version of myself I was when I first heard this song. She was in ninth grade, fearless, and proud to scream. I called to her often to help me write our new songs and all she wanted to do was be like 1905.
Shellac, “Prayer to God”
Sam: Shellac were just too good, seriously. The absolutely crushing rhythm here, paired with those horribly nihilistic lyrics—just so good. I hope that we’re able to make something this heavy with so few pieces someday.
Local H, “Bound for the Floor”
Kitty: A perfect pop song, reached mainstream popularity without pandering to literally anyone. It is the absolute edge of what can be digested without much reflux and I strive to teeter there myself.
The Feelies, “Loveless Love”
Sam: The relentlessness of The Feelies is something I envy to no end, we’re always aiming to bring that into our own music. “Loveless Love” is my favorite song of theirs, and I think its DNA is all over our record, even when we make something extremely different.
Jucifer, “Little Fever”
Kitty: For a long time, I didn't believe my little girly voice could do anything powerful around distorted guitars. Then I heard Jucifer and realized that was fucking stupid!
Chet Baker, “I Fall in Love Too Easily”
Sam: The opposite of The Feelies, Chet Baker’s best (vocal) songs were lush, slow, absolutely narcotic. This song feels like what all the best slowcore bands of the ’90s were aiming for, in a way—right down to the fidelity.
Christina Aguilera, “Walk Away”
Kitty: This song defined the darkest depths of heartbreak for me as a child, and I return to it often as an example of the most impactful use of music theory to evoke emotion. Everything about the production and the performance is designed in a sterile environment to be utterly gutwrenching. It’s like the craft of a masterful playwright, and that skill inspires me.
Tom Waits, “All the World Is Green”
Sam: Some of the finest lyrics ever written by one of the finest writers ever—but also some of the most beautiful, haunting music. God bless that strange man.
