*thumbnail photo by Jesi Cason Photography
I was first introduced to Angela Page when I saw her perform with her band The Young Dead at Beach Records in my hometown. It was a music showcase that night so I had seen a lot of acts by that point. When they started playing I stopped what I was doing immediately. It was as though I had traveled back to the 90’s and was hearing whatever that version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs would have been.
Angela’s vocals are raw and powerful and the band has such a heavy grunge/punk element to it I couldn’t help but be transported to a simpler time.
I grew up on bands like Meat Puppets and Veruca Salt and to me, I had find the perfect fusion of those two worlds in The Young Dead.
I spoke with Angela recently about which records influenced her the most:
Nirvana- In Utero
“I spent my early guitar playing life recreating the guitar tones from this album. The drum tones are some of my favorite of all time as well. It’s an honest album, no one can take that away. Plus it’s a gorgeous marriage between noise – just absolute gnarl – and pop. My favorite.”
Sonic Youth- Daydream Nation
“Every song on this album is gold. I saw Sonic Youth play this album from start to finish at the MacCarren Pool in NYC, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Forget sex, I saw Lee, Kim, Thurston, & Steve play every note of this album. Another perfect marriage of punk, noise, and pop. I think Lee could have been a Beatle.”
Hole- Live Through This
“I mean, fuck you if you hate this album?? No but honestly it’s the best, mostly deeply honest girl rage ever played on the radio. There might be more girl rage in other places, but somehow this album made girl rage popular, and to be honest nothing ever gave me more confidence to be a front woman than watching Courtney Love be that bitch.”
Tori Amos- Boys for Pele
“I am a 90’s child and one of the first albums I ever bought on my own was Boys for Pele. I learned every single note by singing along to the CD with the lyric book in hand. As a singer, Tori is fearless and goes places other singers are afraid to go with their voices. She taught me not be scared to make sounds that were uniquely mine. “
The Distillers- Coral Fang
“I was never a big fan of most of the LA 90’s punk scene – except for the Distillers. Nobody sounds like Brody. As a songwriter, Brody is extraordinary; but as a band the Distillers are absolute magic. Coral Fang seems to be the peak of that magic. I just saw them on their 2018 reunion tour, and it was a dream come true. I can’t wait to hear what they have been making lately.”
PJ Harvey- Dry
“PJ Harvey is an uncompromising artist. Dry was the best intro we could get to her unflinching readiness. As an artist, she is intimidating – one of those people that could write something in 2 minutes and it would be better than anything I could ever make, no matter how much time you give me. The album was recorded live (in fact, it was this album that made Cobain interested in Albini) and she delivers a literal breathtaking performance. But this album, above all her others, shows that the most fundamental element of being a songwriter comes from knowing who you are and how to turn that into music.”
Bjork- Post
“This is another album that taught me how to stretch my voice in strange ways. Bjork is the master of vocal arrangement (later seen on Medula) and is basically a musical genius. Post came out at a really important time in my childhood, and also introduced me to electronica, which I still love very much.”
Failure- Magnified
“I wish someone would remaster this album because it’s too good. The follow up to Magnified, Fantastic Planet, is much better produced but the songs on Magnified just feel more sure of themselves to me. I love Failure and in my opinion they are the absolute by far most underrated band of the 90’s, and it was really hard for me to choose one album. I am so glad they are back together making new music.”
Nine Inch Nails- Broken
“Broken is anger magnified, beyond The Downward Spiral, not as pensive as The Fragile. Peak gritty industrial crunch from Reznor. I like him best when he yells. Some of his most self indulgent music in on this album but it actually makes the songs better.”
Lil Kim- Hard Core
“Lil Kim is the original bad bitch, and I rep all bad bitches since childhood. For real though, when women are unapologetic with their art and persona, I am here for it. Kim is another artist who made me confident when I listened to her. When I was getting my MFA in creative writing, I listened to a shit ton of rap, and again and again I went back to Kim. She can tell a story and does a lot with lyricism.”
Check out The Young Dead’s EP, Righteous Violence below:
Check out an interview with the band about the EP by Hello SWFL:
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