Daughters

Despite the band's innocuous moniker, Daughters specialize in ferocious grindcore noise. The Providence, Rhode Island–based all-male quintet draws credible parallels to Japanese acts such as Melt Banana and the Boredoms, though their approach remains marginally more organized while preserving a disquieting, frenetic intensity. The group earned notice for reshaping its sonic identity across releases, moving from the breakneck delivery on the 2003 debut Canada Songs to the ominous, deliberate vocal tone on 2006's Hell Songs and, following a short break, toward more compact arrangements on the 2018 album You Won't Get What You Want.

Daughters originated in Providence in 2001 after the contentious dissolution of the local noise-rock band As the Sun Sets. Vocalist Alexis Marshall, guitarists Brent Scott Frattini (formerly of the Cancer Conspiracy) and Nicholas Andrew Sadler, bassist Samuel Morehouse Walker, and drummer Jonathan Syverson issued their self-titled EP on the City of Hell imprint in 2002. Clocking in at four tracks across slightly more than four minutes, the effort exemplified terse minimalist noisecore, its titles—including “My Stereo Has Mono and So Does My Girlfriend”—hinting at a playful sensibility. The follow-up Canada Songs appeared in 2003 via Robotic Empire; though framed as a full-length, its ten tracks, marked by even more whimsical names, fit into just over eleven minutes. Apart from a 2004 live document captured at CBGB's, the band remained largely inactive for several years. Upon resurfacing, notable shifts were evident on Hell Songs, where Marshall replaced his earlier incomprehensible vocal barrage with a steadier, low-register growl reminiscent of Nick Cave's Birthday Party era. The compositions, though still aggressive, averaged more than twice the prior length and thereby accommodated wider dynamic contrast. Songwriting for a third album began in 2007, with studio work commencing in 2009, yet an altercation between Marshall and Sadler prompted Marshall's exit and an abrupt hiatus announcement. Subsequent difficulties led Marshall to reassemble the lineup without Sadler, who turned his attention to Fang Island, ultimately yielding the self-titled third album in 2010. Marshall and Sadler reconciled in 2013 and resumed work on a fourth record, only to discard an entire set of recordings in 2014. Over the ensuing years the band offered occasional updates and intermittent live appearances before issuing You Won't Get What You Want in 2018, an effort shaped by film-score aesthetics and minimalism yet retaining its abrasive character throughout.