Pretty Sick

New York City's Pretty Sick surfaced toward the end of the 2010s, delivering a raw, abrasive style grounded in 1990s alt-rock and grunge. Fronted by vocalist and bassist Sabrina Fuentes, the group put out two EPs ahead of their intense debut album, Makes Me Sick Makes Me Smile, which appeared in 2022, then followed up with the Streetwise EP in 2024.

Manhattan-born musician and model Sabrina Fuentes launched Pretty Sick in 2014 at age thirteen. The initial configuration drew in her friends Ella Moore and Eva Kaufman, allowing the band to sharpen its skills across Lower East Side D.I.Y. spaces while steadily cultivating a dedicated audience. Because Fuentes continued dividing her schedule between modeling gigs and music, membership fluctuated frequently. A later configuration of Fuentes, former Virgins guitarist Wade Oates, and Onyx Collection drummer Austin Williamson steered the indie-rock approach toward a heavier grunge direction echoing Hole and Pixies. Performances and videos grew increasingly dramatic, foregrounding blood and hospital motifs, while Fuentes' songwriting took on a bleaker, dystopian edge.

After relocating to London in 2018 to study at Goldsmiths University, Fuentes assembled another version of the band featuring guitarist Orazio Argentero and drummer Ava Kaufman. They signed with Dirty Hit, the label also home to Wolf Alice, Beabadoobee, and the 1975, and issued their first EP, Deep Divine, in 2020, followed by Comedown the next year. Teaming with producer Paul Kolderie, whose credits include Hole and Radiohead, Pretty Sick delivered the full-length Makes Me Sick Makes Me Smile in 2022. The single "Violet" surfaced in June 2024 on the Streetwise EP.