The group's debut album will be released on June 10.
Thank San Diego for giving us Iron Butterfly, Blink-182 & Stone Temple Pilots but it's got another distinction now. In 2019, a group of wise-beyond-their-years SD teens, singer/guitarist Tuesday Denekas (they/them), drummer Milla Merlini (she/her) and bassist Sasha A'Hearn (she/her), rose like punk-pop phoenix's from the ashes of their previous band to corral guitarist/singer Charlee Berlin (who owned but didn't know how to play her instrument at first) to resurrect Denekas' songs of heartbreak and determination, starting out as the Fluorescents with 2020's noteworthy 'self-titled' EP.
Proudly christening themselves The Inflorescence, the band found the right home with Kill Rock Stars to unleash their debut LP Remember What I Look Like (due Summer of 2022). The group faces challenges like juggling high school and college classes, finding all-age venues in town to play and rejecting gender labels as they explain: "in a largely male-dominated industry, we see how undermined we are for being a no-man band, and we see how being on stage empowers alternative girls and non-binary people."
The stunning debut LP Remember What I Look Like, out June 10 on Kill Rock Stars, was conceived during quarantine and draws on the band's inspirations, including indie, punk, emo, grunge and alternative. Tuesday Denekas's songs of shattered, disappointed romance sound triumphant in these infectious songs that are propelled by Milla Merlini's thunderous drums, Sasha A'Hearn's steady, anchoring bass and Charlee Berlin's stinging guitar leads.
The confident nine-song album has zero dull spots or wasted songs. Starting with the sinuous, fast-paced "Phantom Feelings" and the resilient, stomping "So Much of Nothing" to the start/stop drama of "Are You Sorry" and the deceptively sweet, bouncy "Last Week" and the hair-pin turns and resilient defiance of "The Truth" to the brief respite from the title track which launches into the epic, gripping "Tomorrow Night" and the desperate grunge power of "The Button," finishing off with the roaring climax of "Board Game," it's a rollercoaster ride of thrills and anguish to strap in for.
Clocking in at almost seven minutes, this bold, unforgiving song earns its length, starting with elastic Neil Young guitar workouts and ending with beautiful fluid extended guitar solos (think Richard Thompson). The lyrics are no less gripping with the twisted desperation of "you just might be/the only one I think could be the one for me" matched by a brutal demand for emotional pain at the end- "just try your hardest and stare right at me and break my heart like you have already."
Watch the new music video here:
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