So Stressed - Pale Lemon (2018)

Three wildly overexcited young men playing arty but muscular punk rock with the fervor of someone who just finished his fifth shot of espresso, So Stressed began life in Sacramento, California in 2009. The group started out as a large noise ensemble, but in time So Stressed whittled itself down to three members, Morgan Fox (synthesizer and vocals), Andrew Garcia (guitar), and Kenneth Draper (drums). More compact but still capable of generating an impressive racket, So Stressed became a fixture in the California noise punk community, and in October 2012 they released their debut EP, Attracted to Open Mouths, released by the independent Music Ruins Lives label. In late 2014, Meredith Graves of the band Perfect Pussy announced that she was launching her own record label, Honor Press, to be distributed by Captured Tracks, and So Stressed became the new venture's first signing. The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art, the first full-length album from So Stressed, was released in May 2015. ~ Mark Deming