DC Special

by Scream

Overview

A sporadically active band that chooses to make a reunion album needs a good reason to do so, something more than not having anything else to do. In the case of Scream, the fabled Washington, D.C. band whose body of work evolved from D.C. hardcore into a muscular, intelligent post-punk attack, it was a matter of celebrating friends and colleagues and the scene that brought them together while all that was still possible. 2023's DC Special, Scream's first release since 2011's Complete Control Sessions (recorded with some help from one-time drummer Dave Grohl), featured the last recordings of Kent Stax, Scream's original drummer, who lost his life to cancer in September 2023, less than two months before DC Special was released. It also proved to be one of the last projects recorded at Inner Ear Studios, the Arlington, Virginia studio where practically every notable band on the D.C. underground from the '80s onward recorded, shuttering one of the scene's spiritual homes. If Scream wanted to host a wake, they'd have good cause, but DC Special doesn't play out that way. The tone of the album suggests they were well aware this set of songs would close several chapters in their history, but it celebrates the present as much as the past, full of passionate and purposeful music about fighting the good fight in art and life. The songs touch on the many musical twists and turns of their history, including hardcore ("Bored to Life"), anthemic punk (Hel Nah"), speedy hard rock ("Dead Cities"), proto-math rock ("Represent"), reggae ("Tum Tum"), and even late-night acoustic introspection ("Last of the Soft"), and on each track, the band -- Pete Stahl on vocals, Franz Stahl on guitar, Skeeter Thompson on bass, and Stax on drums -- are in great form, tight and expressive without compromising passion and feeling. They also brought along some friends and neighbors to help out, including Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally of Fugazi, Brian Baker of Minor Threat, Jerry Busher of Fidelity Jones, Mark Cisneros of the Make Up, and even a few pre-punk and new wave fellow travelers, including Bob Berberich of Grin, Martha Hull of the Slickee Boys, and Michael Reidy of the Razz. (Oh, and good guy Dave Grohl is on hand, too.) Full of songs that demand engagement and shout down apathy, DC Special is a splendid summary of what Scream has done so well since the early 1980s, as well as the community and the worldview that drove them to strive to be more than just a really good rock band. They succeeded for four decades, and DC Special suggests they still have a future if fate has it in store. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/10/2023
Label:	Dischord Records
UPC:	0643859194010
Rank:	39548

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Scream   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Amy Pickering   Vocals (Background)
Skeeter Thompson   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Franz Stahl   Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Amanda MacKaye   Vocals (Background)
Derrick Decker   Drums
Clint Walsh   Piano,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Jason Hamacher   Vocals (Background)
Mark Cisneros   Bass,Drums
Kent Stacks   Drums,Maracas,Tambourine,Vocals (Background)
Pete Stahl   Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Nate Bergman   Vocals (Background)
Farrah Skeiky   Vocals (Background)
Mike Reidy   Vocals (Background)
John Goetchius   Keyboards
Bobby Madden   Organ
Wilfredo Morales   Vocals (Background)
Onam Emmett   Guitar
Jennifer Stacks   Vocals (Background)
Saturday Nwoke   Vocals (Background)
Ian MacKaye   Vocals (Background)
Scott Garrett   Drums
Dave Grohl   Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Jerry Busher   Drums
Martha Hull   Vocals
Randy Austin   Lap Steel Guitar
Joe Lally   Bass
Brian Baker   Guitar
Bob Berberich   Drums
Vanessa Freebairn-Smith   Cello

Technical Credits

Clint Walsh   Mixing
Matt Schuessler   Mixing
Allison Fisher   Design
Norm Block   Mixing
Pete Stahl   Design,Composer,Engineer
George Daly   Composer
Ian MacKaye   Mixing,Producer
Don Zientara   Mixing,Engineer
Rob Schnapf   Mixing
Scream   Composer,Producer
Tom Guernsey   Composer
Darryl Jenifer   Composer