“Hausu and Japanese horror were really big inspirations for Squeeze, whereas for the new one it was Thelma & Louise, denim, and big ‘80s hair,” Sasami Ashworth, better known mononymously as SASAMI, tells me of her upcoming third solo LP (She’s a former member of Cherry Glazerr.), Blood on the Silver Screen, set to drop March 7th on her longtime home, Domino. However, she admits that she’s mostly into bastardized appropriations of her inspirations, noting that every song on the album essentially taps into a different cinematic genre, including sci-fi and old classical cinema, whose sonic aesthetic can be found on duet “In Love With A Memory,” which features longtime friend (and mega-star) Clairo. The song embraces SASAMI’s background in classical music, with additional inspiration taken from traditional Japanese pop ballads, and features production work from Rostam (former music director for SASAMI’s high school buddies Haim), who SASAMI tells me she considers a kindred spirit: “We’re both indie kids with composition backgrounds.”
Unlike 2022 sophomore album Squeeze, which was equal parts Ozzfest and Lilith Fair and had SASAMI touring with a metal band (“We did a cover of ‘Toxicity,’ and the shows felt like we were doing ‘Toxicity’ karaoke.”), Blood on the Silver Screen is a pure 21st Century pop album, a style of music that SASAMI shied away from growing up. “Some people just have ideas and just do what comes to them… I’m always trying to learn as much as I’m trying to create,” she tells me of her inclination to experiment with different genres, going on to say, “I’m always interested in exploring… exploring why certain sounds make me feel certain things.”
After the initial headlining dates behind Squeeze in early 2022 had SASAMI playing cramped and sweaty punk spaces, including Johnny Brenda’s (a show which she remembers fondly: “That was a great show! I think I injured my guitarist at that show… I remember a very distinct headbutt.”), subsequent jaunts had the singer/songwriter/producer/composer playing much bigger, pop-ready stages as support for a handful of mega-acts, including local dates with Haim (whose sound she’s characterized as “elevated pop music”) at The Mann, yeule (whose live band she played in) at Union Transfer, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs at The Met. However, she suggests this time spent on the road just seems to be something musicians have to do these days, but that the size of the stages aren’t necessarily what pushed her music in this pop direction, as one might assume: “I think back in the day it used to be different, where you could maybe put out an album every year or so, but now with the economy and all, you’re really expected to tour an album a few years.”
SASAMI is about a week into a run of dates providing direct support for our buddies Destroy Boys, who are touring behind their fourth studio LP, Funeral Soundtrack #4, which dropped in August on Hopeless Records and features our phriend Kat Moss of Scowl and hometown heroine Missy Dabice of Mannequin Pussy. This Friday, November 15th, will have SASAMI returning to Union Transfer with the SoCal punk rockers. And unlike her last stop at the Eraserhood venue, which was relatively stripped down, she tells me that Friday night’s show will feature a full theatrical production: “I actually played Union Transfer last October with yeule, and I played solo, so I’m excited to be back with my drummer and my lighting designer… We have a full programmed light show.”
While Squeeze would seem to fit fairly neatly alongside the sounds of Destroy Boys, Blood on the Silver Screen would seem to hold a different appeal, but SASAMI tells me that the audiences have been giving the album’s pop sounds a warm welcome: “Destroy Boys are definitely a punk band, and their fans are there to mosh… but these days there’s less of this, ‘I’m defined by the genre I listen to.’ I knew that Squeeze and the kind of rock songs would hit super hard, but they’re enjoying the poppier and dancier tracks, as well… It’s nice to see that they can mosh to one song, then for another they can just dance.”
*Get your tickets here.
