At the heart of Kristeen Young’s almost thirty-year career lies an unquenchable appetite for truth and authenticity. It is this visceral passion that led to her creation of a unique signature style – piano-punk meets Missouri-gothic – which in turn earned her notable collaborations with iconic artists such as Tony Visconti, David Bowie, and Dave Grohl among others.
When the DIY alt-rocker had a botched deal go down with a London record company in the making of her eleventh album, Full Scrotal Scorpio, Young went independent, setting out to capture her own vision without the “help” of a third party. Alongside her prominent longtime percussionist Jefferson Wayne “Baby Jef” White, the self-produced record officially hit streaming today, October 23rd. The result is a project that rages and wrestles with the bleak state of our world as a metaphor for how we, too, must dance and jump our way through life.
The first single and second track on the album is “Not Like You,” which begins with a dreamy sort of ambience that harshly cuts to a warped alt-punk explosion. A powerful, bashing piano solo in the middle and the percussion-supported half-time breakdowns in the chorus give this song a strong sense of righteous rebellion. It reflects on the arbitrary constructs that try to tame us and, in turn, drive us away from each other.
Track four and her September single, “Numbers,” is an overstimulating concoction of tinny backing vocalizations, dissonant piano, and an ominous descent in the bass line over time. Brief blips of silence worked into the arrangement work to simulate momentary escapes from the capitalistic crunch issuing ceaseless demands. Young’s delivery is equal parts riotously authoritative and jarring, whether whispering or shouting.
Growling guitar and frantic piano intertwine once more on the title track, “Full Scrotal Scorpio,” to depict a gruesome transformation scene, as arrogant human superiority melts into the primal, animalistic action which dooms us. The title track’s heavy industrial sound features a haunting minor chord progression and interspersed screams of anguish, all bolstered by what sounds like it could be a Trent Reznor-style production.
The final track, “Prime Ape,” borrows this same progression in its verses before turning in a more determined direction in the chorus, if not hopeful. This is the epitome of Young’s melody-in-noise mindset, piano-bashing and chant-like lyrics moving confidently across key changes and intersectional switch-ups. It feels desperate but resigned, a final look at the horrors that our species has made reality.
Full Scrotal Scorpio operates as a harsh wake-up call, a caustic confrontation, and a defiant sonic explosion for listeners.
Young has her record release show tonight at TV Eye in Queens, and will be joining The Smashing Pumpkins for a third time on their current Rats in a Cage tour to perform her cover of “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” at LA’s Kia Forum on November 12th.
