Pretty Please have never been accused of writing ornate or overly complex music. But loud? Visceral? Heavy? That you could always depend on. Since forming in 2012, the Atlanta trio have been churning out noisy, angsty anthems that borrow equally from early grunge, punk, and sludge rock. Their songs are abrasive and fierce, but buried within all that sonic heft and aggression is a hook-minded tunefulness. If they’re going to consistently go for the jugular, I suppose the least they can do is let you scream along.

“Rock Is Dad,” the group’s first release since 2018’s Fur Model, sees them maintaining their discordant approach while stripping their sound down to its bare essentials. A stomping, feedback-laced groove and dam-bursting drums lay the groundwork for Robee Whitmire’s sardonic vocals to charge through the din. The track is unmistakably Pretty Please but you can’t help but feel that the gravity surrounding the band has somehow shifted. “Rock Is Dad” is both lean and bone-crunchingly potent in a way that seems fresh and invigorating.

“We wanted to kind of just let it flow, songwriting wise,” Whitmire explains. “Instead of trying fit into the noise rock box or make a stylistically cohesive thing. I love Melvins, but I also love Ben Kweller, you know? Usually I’ll stress over an idea for a few months and try to force it. This time, if I liked it immediately, we kept it pretty much as it came out. If I couldn’t figure out a chorus or something, we’d scrap the song.”

As the lead cut and first single from the group’s upcoming EP, Discount Wax Museum, “Rock Is Dad” sets a mercilessly seething tone. The six-track effort was recorded by Ryan Boesch (Whores., Melvins, The Rentals), whose beefy production provides a weight and density that’s been missing from the band’s previous recordings. The raw intensity remains, but the band sounds bigger and more explosive, justifying their decision to step away from their DIY roots.

“Recording wise, we’d done it ourselves for the last few records and thought we could use an outside pair of ears and skills,” Whitmire says. “We chose Boesch because of his track record making albums we love. It’d been so long since we’d done anything. It was a kind of ‘go big or go home’ moment for us.”

Listen below.

Discount Wax Museum is out June 21.

More Info
Bandcamp: prettyplease.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @prettypleasemusic
Instagram: @prettypleasenoise
SoundCloud: @prettypleasemusic
Twitter: @prettypleaseatl