Hoo boy, this month has taken a dark turn. In the first official installment of this year's "If I Haven't Heard It, It's New to Me" month, Andrew has brought to the table the works of Parenthetical Girls, with the idea that it would spurn an interesting conversation between him and Max. He was right.

Parenthetical Girls is the project of one Zac Bennington, owner of the highest cheekbones in the Pacific Northwest, as well as someone whose recently earned the dubious title of Max's Most Hated Musician. A protege of Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart, who produced his first album, Zac started off making lo-fi bedroom music before spiraling into more a direct Xiu Xiu pastiche and, eventually, string-laden chamber pop. He's also a smug asshat whose lyrics jump gayly over the line between provocative and malicious. You can see where some inter-host conflict would arise.

But their growth as musicians is a fascinating one, and beneath the terrible personalities are some actually really good songs. They're basically the indie embodiment of cognitive dissonance, and the resulting episode can kindly be called one of our most animated. If you're a Parenthetical Girls fan, we are deeply, deeply sorry. Also: hateful rosetta stones, the Papa Roach discography, and an incredibly out of place Maroon 5 reference.

Music:

Handsome Devil

C86 is Killing My Life

Inspirational Shortpants

Keyholes and Curtains

Unmentionables

This Regrettable End

Evelyn McHale

A Note to Self

A Song for Ellie Greenwich

The Common Touch

Brimstone and Vaseline