The Paranoyds

Your phone, your TV, your computer - who (or what) is watching you? It’s an oft-asked question in the digital age, and one that The Paranoyds echoed when it comes to the origins of their name. Part of a generation immersed in documentation, oversharing, and ease of surveillance, The Paranoyds know better than anyone, it’s scary out there. But the band’s fearless pursuit of a good time won’t stop them from crafting the kind of gritty, Southern California garage rock that refuses to hide. The core of the Los Angeles four-piece began with Laila Hashemi (keyboardist-vocals) and Lexi Funston (guitars/vocals) whose friendship carried from preschool days to the halls of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Ditching the playground for the practice space in high school, they caught up with Staz Lindes (bass/vocals) and welcomed David Ruiz (drums, vocals) in 2015. The Paranoyds’ mission to craft songs with the gritty spunk and dark playfulness of a cult-classic splatter film is shared equally. The band notes that “Lexi and Staz are the predominant writers but the songs get all their true personality once David and Laila have something to say about it.” Their self-described “sister vocal act” shares the snarling, over-it-but-totally-into-it vocals throughout their songs, moving from dirty surf-pop guitar jams to power-packed garage rock. The Paranoyds’ debut release on Suicide Squeeze offers a taste of what The Paranoyds have been crafting. The band began work with Mark Rains at Station House Studios to follow up 2018’s Maldito EP that previously captured the bands’ energetic and exciting sounds. “Hungry Sam” is a binge-worthy feast of chugging guitars and belly-rounded drums that stands as a live show favorite for the band. Funston sums up the regret and dread of dealing with excess, leading the band in a chorus of “I was hungry”, and her manic laugh is the bursting point which sends the band on a downward spiral. Hashemi’s kooky, playful keys sound like the sound