Since the release of 2015’s Peanut Butter, the Cardiff, Wales, UK-based indie rock band Joanna Gruesome has gone through a major lineup change with the band’s long-time vocalist Alanna McArdle leaving the band. And the band’s response was to boldly move forward with new recruits Kate Stonestreet, who was once a member of Pennycress replacing McArdle on vocals and Roxy Brennan, best known as a member of Two White Cranes and Grubs on vocals and keyboards joining guitarist and Owen Williams (guitar/vocals), George Nicholls (guitar), Max Warren (bass) and Dave Sandford (drums). Interestingly, as the story goes, the original members of the band mentioned in press notes that they recruited Stonestreet and Brennan after a chance meeting in a local occult bookshop.
Produced by Rory Atwell, band’s latest single “Pretty Fucking Sick (Of It All)” is reportedly influenced by the band’s most recent Stateside tour, during which the CIA took a special interest in the band’s movement — and as the band explains “this song is about pursued by intelligence operatives and is partly set in the Welsh village Llangrannog.” The single will further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation for off-kilter, jangling and anthemic pop with elements of sneering and noisy punk irony.
The recently released music video features a man, who’s actively trying to redefine the gender binary, reading books on the occult and then practicing several occult-like rituals — but the video also possesses a sense of paranoia, as though the video’s protagonist constantly recognizes that he’s being followed.
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