Portland’s Summer Cannibals originally grabbed its name from a Patti Smith song, but there’s something brilliantly literal about the moniker too. The band Frankensteins its music from a lot of time-tested summer signifiers: loud guitars, shouted choruses, and an anger that’s heated but also party-ready.
On its third album, Full Of It, Summer Cannibals nail the alchemy while still having something to say amidst the distortion. Jessica Boudreaux sneers her way through this live version of “Say My Name,” grabbing words in her teeth and spitting them back out: “When you ask our friends how I’m doing / they say that your voice breaks when you say my name.” It’s wounded but gleeful, hammered home by the Weezer-esque chorus that just gets bigger and better every time.
“Say My Name” also appears on Full Of It, out now via Kill Rock Stars.
–Art Levy
