Parenthetical Girls was an experimental pop band formed in Everett, Washington (USA) in 2002, and disbanded in 2013. Begun primarily as a recording project between Zac Pennington and Jeremy Cooper, the band, originally known as Swastika Girls, went through several line-up changes, all sharing a variety of instrumental duties, and was known for its revolving-door policy to membership, with Pennington the only constant. Other members, like Jherek Bischoff and former touring musician Sam Mickens (both of the band The Dead Science) continued to contribute to the group’s recorded output, though neither toured with the band.
Following Cooper’s departure, Pennington released (((GRRRLS))), the band’s vinyl-only debut album on his own Slender Means Society label in 2004. Recorded with the help of Jherek Bischoff and Jamie Stewart (the latter of Xiu Xiu), (((GRRRLS))) featured different mixes of the seven songs on each side of the record. This was followed by the digital-only self-release of their second Christmas-themed EP Christmas with Parenthetical Girls that same year, as well as their second album Safe as Houses.
After the release of Safe as Houses, the band’s lineup was mostly solidified for the remainder of the 2000s as Pennington was joined by multi-instrumentalists Rachael Jenson and Matt Carlson, with percussionist Eddy Crichton joining soon after.
Beginning in 2010, the band released a series of limited 12″ EPs which would later be compiled into their 2013 album Privilege. Meanwhile, in the Summer of 2011, Parenthetical Girls performed a brief evening of songs in tribute to Kate Bush. In anticipation of said performance, the group prepared a series of demonstrative recordings for personal use, released as a digital EP titled Demos for The Dreaming. The EP contains three songs originally performed by Kate Bush: Under The Ivy, There Goes A Tenner and Don’t Give Up.
On June 19, 2017, Pennington announced his new project, Comedienne, which includes Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier and longtime collaborator Jherek Bischoff. The announcement came alongside news that Parenthetical Girls is officially defunct.
References
- Parenthetical Girls. Wikipedia, retrieved 5 March 2024
