SPIN: THIS WEEK'S BEST BAND IN THE WORLD: SCREAMING FEMALES

DON GIOVANNI RECORDS IS FUCKING SELLING OUT THE BOWERY, DUDES. And with a packed guest list filled with amazing writers and late night TV bookers, things are just going to get radder. TODAY, SPIN.COM JUST NAMED SCREAMING FEMALES "THIS WEEK'S BEST BAND IN THE WORLD". People's minds are going to be blown by the Females, ShellShag and the whole rest of the bill. Much love, much props.

"New Brunswick, New Jersey's Screaming Females have a terrible band name. I feel vaguely embarrassed whenever I say it out loud, as if I'm talking about a raunchy exploitation flick or something. But a band's name never matters if the music is good enough, and on every track of the rambunctious trio's Singles (Don Giovanni), due February 9, guitarist-singer Marissa Paternoster, drummer Jarrett Dougherty, and bassist King Mike whip up a giddy punk rock frenzy.

Paternoster's guitar playing is the first thing you'll notice. On tracks like the choogling "Arm Over Arm" and head-bobbingly insolent "I Do" she churns out thick chord riffs that nod at classic punk but add a bouncy rhythmic flair. Then she'll stop and pick out a chiming single note passage or spiraling solo. She plays like she's listened to all the best garage rock singles, half-forgotten what she heard, and came up with better stuff when she tried to play the songs back from memory.

Her singing is good too: Strident, with a smartly deployed vibrato and a healthy dash of sneering attitude that makes a line like "I dig on calculus," from "I Do" sound like a warning. And if Dougherty and King Mike don't quite match their frontwoman, they complement her just about perfectly--check out the almost tribal groove they cook up on an almost unrecognizable version of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer." It's just a fun, fun record. Now about that name."--DAVID MARCHESE, SPIN.