Goddess Energy by Who Is She?
Our monuments to the triumph of the human spirit are grand and bold structures, monoliths that stretch to the heavens just as easily as they crumble to the earth. These are tributes to great people, grand journeys, and the weight of history. In our desire to honor the enormity of humankind, we might forget to also pay appropriate tribute to all the moments that make our lives and those within it beautiful and fantastically surreal. But here, in service of the intrinsic heart and whimsy at the core of the lived-experience of our lives is a trio of expert songwriters, Who Is She?
Who Is She’s previous record, 2017’s Seattle Gossip, was a field trip through endless delights. A collection of unforgettable rock and roll hits about rom-coms, missed connection ads, the magic of a Myspace top 8 and the chemistry of David Arquette and Courtney Cox. Now, the Seattle supergroup of master songwriters – Robin Edwards (Lisa Prank), Bree Mckenna (Tacocat) and Julia Shapiro (Chastity Belt) – are joined by a new member: Tacocat’s Emily Nokes, who brings glorious harmonies to the studio and keyboards to the live experience, adding a new dimension to an expansive universe of sound. And with a new member comes word of a new record: Goddess Energy.
An album named in tribute to the kindest diss anyone could deliver, when the collective’s longtime friend Aaron Greene once politely declined to have lunch with them because it would be “too much goddess energy.” As in all things Who Is She?, an inside joke amongst friends becomes so much more.
These are songs born of the strength of friendship and community, cultivated through song-a-day challenges and late-night jams, taking the moments of their lives and the world around them and turning them on their heads, sculpting earworms and unforgettable hooks from their bones. “The three of us are always down to jam,” Mckenna says of their process that takes innocuous themes like Shania Twain and Anne Hathaway and builds them out into worlds to lose yourself in for a few minutes of pure blissful respite.
Goddess Energy bursts with hits that will burrow into brains for the rest of all our days with songs like “My My Orca Card.” The retelling of the classic Le Tigre song (“My My Metrocard”) now an exploration of the Washington transit card and a critique of Amazon overlord Jeff Bezos, also famously caused a local hockey scandal that made headlines.
Or “96 Ghouls,” a driving and anthemic ode to scrolling and swiping through an endless array of online dating disappointments, fists will find the air with unforgettable sing-along chants. “MoviePass” is a sun-tinged summer jam that serves double duty as a tender ode to the beloved and lost subscription movie service. You could search heaven and earth and find no catchier song about the perfection of a day of the week than what Who Is She? delivers masterfully here, with the bouncing angelic rhythm of “Thursday.”
Who Is She? are more than a supergroup, they are a power trio wielding talent honed in their respective bands that has formed here into an undeniable hit machine swirling with hints of pop, indie, and punk rock. Produced by the legendary Jenn Champion (Carissa’s Wierd, S), Goddess Energy is a group chat struck by lightning and given life, a sonic bombardment of riffs and turns-of-phrase.
The communal spirit thrives in the songs of Who Is She?, awash in the light of longtime friends that build on the strength of each other's ideas, thoughts, jokes, and vibes, compressing it all together into perfect nuggets of songs. “I feel like the band is a vehicle for hanging out,” adds Edwards, as Shapiro puts it with an effortless succinct aside, “we’re a friendship band.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Goddess Energy | 1:20 |
| 2. | 96 Ghouls | 1:55 |
| 3. | MoviePass | 1:59 |
| 4. | Thursday | 3:14 |
| 5. | My My Orca Card | 2:13 |
| 6. | Shania | 1:27 |
| 7. | Anne Hathaway | 1:35 |
| 8. | Please Don't Kick Us Out | 2:18 |
| 9. | Sea-Monkeys | 2:46 |
| 10. | Bitch for God | 1:13 |
| 11. | All Mixed Up | 2:07 |
Credits
Recorded by Matt Clark at Alma Mater in Tacoma, WA
Mixed by Jenn Champion
Mastered by Levi Seitz at Black Belt
Album cover by Frank Correa
Flower crowns by Tim Manns
Who is She? Is Robin Edwards, Brianna Mckenna, and Julia Shapiro
Robin Edwards - Vocals, Guitar
Brianna Mckenna - Bass, Backup vocals
Julia Shapiro - Drums, Keys, Backup vocals
Emily Nokes - Backup vocals & harmonies
All songs by Who is She? except “My My Orca Card” by Le Tigre
