Djunah : "Femina Furens"

Here is the problem with the diversity push that spread into music, when a woman comes along making music worth listening to and thoughtful perspectives on her feminine experience are brought to the table, if it does not fit neatly into a marketing box then it falls under the radar. I can not believe there is no more buzz about this album, yet a bunch of garbage gets pushed down our throats regularly.In many ways, this could have come from the 90s. There is a grungy grit to the guitars. Sometimes their music has the blistering blitz of PJ Harvey's early days if coupled with beefier metallic bombast. Not punk enough to get filed in the noise rock category that is growing hot again. 

Donna Diane's voice is husky, emotive, and carries a powerful howl. However, I can see where the marketing team of a label's PR company might be stumped in regards to how to market it. There is a metal influence, but despite it being rowdier than indie it's not metal. Gunge feels the closest as this could have been the album Cortney Love released if she had not been trying to cash in on the Kurt connection. "Hallway" carries enough of a punch to appeal to metal fans, but so did Alice in Chains.  You get the cathartic feel of how she is purging her shadow self through her voice. The first hint of her poetic inspirations is not heard until "Suicidal on Christmas" then it falls in an odd place between spoken word and singing. 

The explosive" Seven Winds of Sekhmet" comes closest to being a rock anthem. The melancholy melody of "Lopsided" works best, as if goes to a darker sonic place. In the early 2000's there was a band called Forget Cassettes, that occupied a similar zip code, so this fills that void for me, though is less angular and quirky. "Butchering" finds these guys continuing to dig deeper into their own niche. Perhaps the melodies could be hookier, but there is charm in her belted bellow. "Petting" expands and contracts off the tension of the guitar in a more rock manner, The lyrical theme of the album is recovering from PTSD, which is best conveyed in her shifting attitudes of her place in the world on "Reining" that takes a darker more reflective look. It is not an album of victim worship, but finds her taking a hard look at belief systems no longer serving her. 

The last song confirms my theory regarding PJ Harvey being one of her dominant influences. It also happens to be one of the album most well written songs, so it is not like she is settling for being a PJ Harvey tribute.  I will give this album a 9.5, as it excels at capturing very honest moods , and occupies a place I have not done this well since the 90s. This might be the best album that slips under your radar this year if you do not check it out.