Mannequin Pussy

Mannequin Pussy formed in Philadelphia in 2010, building a sound that shifts violently between delicate, whispery indie pop and blistering hardcore punk — often within the same song. Marisa Dabice's guitar and vocal work is the band's center of gravity: she plays a Fender Jaguar — the offset guitar's shorter scale length and bright, biting tone ideal for the quick dynamic shifts that define the band's approach — through a variety of overdrive and distortion setups. On Patience (2019), produced by Will Yip at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, Dabice's Jaguar was captured through a mix of clean amp tones and heavily saturated crunch, with a Boss DS-1 providing the harsh, clipping distortion for the heavier passages. The DS-1's intentionally ugly breakup — harsher and less musical than more expensive overdrive pedals — suits the band's aesthetic: the distortion is meant to sound confrontational rather than pleasing. Atelier Ciseaux (Colins Regisford) provides bass on a Fender Jazz Bass, anchoring the rhythmic shifts with a punchy, aggressive tone. On I Got Heaven (2024), the band pushed the dynamic extremes further: songs like "I Don't Know You" open with Dabice singing quietly over clean guitar before exploding into full-band catharsis, with the Jaguar's single-coil pickups producing a feedback-drenched wall of sound. Yip's production captured the band in a live room configuration, preserving the chaotic energy of their shows — widely regarded as some of the most intense in the current DIY punk scene. Kaleen Reading's drumming is the engine of the dynamic shifts: her ability to switch instantly between precise, restrained patterns and full-blast hardcore beats gives the quiet-loud transitions their physical impact.