Burning Pools is a new and emerging Los Angeles-based rock act that features three incredibly accomplished musicians: husband and wife team Kristopher Pooley (drums) and Ginger Pooley (bass, vocals) and Max Bernstein (guitar) have been session players and touring musicians with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Tom Morello, Siouxsie Sioux, Slash, Morrissey, Liz Phair, Scott Weiland, Tegan and Sara, Jane’s Addiction, Weezer, Gwen Stefani and Kesha. And while the band may be a relative newcomer on the scene, Burning Pools has been several years in the making; in between their various obligations The Pooleys had been demoing songs showcasing Ginger’s penchant for empowering, protest-fueled lyrics paired with pop hooks.
Kristopher Pooley had met Bernstein through their work together with Kesha, recruited him to add some sub-octave fuzz to some tracks. Recognizing that they found the missing piece to their sound, it was decided that Kristopher Pooley, who was a keyboardist by trade should dust off his drum kit and shelve the keyboards as they were determined to craft a massive guitar, drum and bass sound inspired by The Pooleys experience touring with Smashing Pumpkins.
Much like countless acts across the globe, the members of Burning Pools had their hopes of road-testing material dashed as a result of pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions — but in the meantime, they’ll be releasing songs from their forthcoming EP, including the trio’s latest single “Woman.” Centered around an alternating quieter verses and explosive choruses, “Woman” features enormous fuzz and distortion pedaled power chords, thunderous drumming, arena rock friendly hooks paired with Pooley’s defiant vocals. And at its core, the song is a feminist anthem that celebrates the unique strength, resiliency and power that only a woman can possess.
Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising that the band’s latest single is fueled by Ginger Pooley’s own personal experiences. The song not only addresses the biases and challenges she — and of course, other women — would face in society and as a musician, but it gets more much personal, discussing how hours after she gave birth to her daughter, she was tasked with the responsibility of planning her own mother’s funeral, who died while Ginger was in labor. Unsurprisingly, the male members of her family weren’t up to the task. And while the experience of celebrating new life and mourning the passing of one within a week had been traumatizing, they were also profound on her, as it revealed to her a strength and resiliency that perhaps she may not have known she had until then.
The recently released video follows a young girl, who stands in as the a larger female archetype. She may be on an arduous and important mission but she’s brave, determined, strong, bold, fun — and sometimes lonely.
