With grunge’s widespread appeal across the country, maybe it’s not that surprising it found a home in the Sunshine State. Enter Dræm Girl, a Florida-based grunge act fresh off the release of the 2016 EP You Can’t Go Back. The trio is comprised of three Tampa-natives with front man Vincent Medina, drummer Nicolas Remy, and bassist Jared Hanlon.
Running only three tracks long, You Can’t Go Back still manages to leave an impression. The EP takes off immediately on the opening track “Blackbird”, with a swift drum beat accented by an equally enthusing bass line. Leading the charge on both vocals and guitar is Vincent Medina, who draws perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the group’s sound. On guitar, he seems to constantly fight the urge to turn his lush soundscapes into heavy oscillations. Despite the chaotic reverberation, the vocals sift in and out with peculiar ease. The unique combo draws comparisons to “one of their biggest influences” in the Pixies.
With each short track, Medina gives you a closer look into his self-described “twisted mind.” When he moans “Nevermore” at the end of the first track, he does so as an ode to the author Edgar Allen Poe. The only knock on the band is that they leave you wanting more. Again, perhaps this is their intent. When asked for the meaning of the band’s name, Medina explains, “We all want what we can’t have.”
While that may be the case for now, look for Dræm Girl to be an exciting addition to the Florida grunge scene. Listen to the release below and download it via Bandcamp. You can catch Dræm Girl live when they open DAWN’s EP release party at The Bends in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 28. More information on that show is available via here.
This article appears in Jan 12-19, 2017.
