Lampooning everything from exes to mansplaining, So I Says to Mabel’s new EP …needs therapy is a pop-punk delight.
Having only formed in June of last year, Western Sydney band So I Says to Mabel would be forgiven for having at least one miss on their just-released EP.
But somehow, almost in spite of their greenness, the quartet have delivered the all-elusive ‘no-skip’ project, with their debut effort …needs therapy possessing the excellence of a band ten years’ their senior.
Out August 25, the six-track collection is both lyrically introspective and sonically explosive, with Jacqui, Doug, Joel and Josh combining their efforts for the year’s best pop-punk release to date.
The EP opens with the gritty guitar strums and thunderous percussion of Angry Hole. Buoyed by an aughties-punk feel, the track sees lead vocalist Jacqui lament the breakdown of a friendship, as punctuated by catchy guttural ad libs courtesy of Doug.
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Like every pop-punk classic, there’s a wailing quality to Jacqui’s vocals that’s altogether infectious, to the point where you want to cheer along as she tells a former friend: “You’re not welcome here now.”
The thrashing intensity of Angry Hole — paired with backing harmonies and a head-banging riff — continues on lead single Circles. Here, SISTM dive deep into mental health as Jacqui overthinks other people’s judgements and laments her mind “runnin’ circles.”
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While detailing more introspective thoughts, Circles doesn’t lose sight of the band’s noisier tendencies, which makes singer’s efforts to “be more positive” all the more cathartic.
Anchored by a catchy electric guitar riff, Circles pairs lyrical depth with screechy production, while still making the entire enterprise feel authentic.
Elsewhere, making good on the promise of its title, Super Emo initially slows down proceedings with a warm, almost-acoustic guitar melody. Fret not, since the glorious thrash SISTM excel at quickly returns for what is the EP’s closest foray to metal.
Screamo-like backing vocals accentuate Super Emo’s angered reflections on relationship turmoil, offering a sonic middle-finger to an ex-flame who does nothing but “drag me down.”
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The slower riff from the intro returns on the bridge, which gradually ascends again for a climactic final chorus. From toxic exs comes a broader tackling of misogyny on EP highlight Talking, which finds the band at their most incisive.
Talking reads like a much-needed takedown of mansplaining and the “boys club,” with the surrounding production like a siren call for anyone who’s been made to “feel like nothing according to [men].”
Boasting the EP’s catchiest hook, Talking should be the first thing you reply to a sleazy unwanted DM. That sentiment is best explained on the penultimate track.
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There’s a beautiful simplicity to Stupid Ex, whose lyrics are every bit as forthright as the titular insult suggests. With a rapid-fire cadence, the band lampoons the type who won’t stop “playing games,” seeing right through their booty calls and wishing for them to “one day grow.”
Stupid Ex pairs this diaristic storytelling with the EP’s sparsest instrumentation, making its message all the more razor-sharp.
Written from the perspective of the character Five from Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, the EP’s final track is also the band’s most encompassing, adopting a new perspective and leaving ample room for pure instrumentals.
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By forefronting both storytelling and their collective efforts as a band, Five is a worthy closer to the punk-rock odyssey that is SISTM’s debut EP.
Produced and mixed Dave Bleus,…needs therapy was written around riffs played by the bandmates in the studio. Five, Circles and Super Emo formed the tracklist of SISTM’s first-ever show in Western Sydney, with additional shows slated for Canberra, Putty and Wollongong.
Listen to So I Says to Mabel’s debut ep …needs therapy below.
