Emotional nu-metal w/ Sasami: NPR (video)

Sarah McCammon, NPR, 2/27/22; CC Liu, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

On February 25, 2022, the artist Sasami released her new album, Squeeze, which is a call for catharsis and healing for the disillusioned (Andrew Thomas Huang/Courtesy of the artist/NPR)

NPR bends over backward to be "alt."

(WQ) Asian American emo metal artist Sasami Ashworth is a weirdo, or at least she strives to be. She had a tough childhood with lots of childhood trauma, so we're all going to have to suffer for it. But she has made the best of her complex PTSD and gotten onto NPR's radar. She was featured today (2/27/22) for her new nu-metal album Squeeze. It's melodic and offbeat but hardly metal, except for those butterfly loving emo chicks who may begin to identify with and idolize her. It's a nice voice, but Sibylle Baier, Clairo, Cat Power, and others already do this voice.

Chick rock with a demented flair of trauma

(NPR) Filled with fantasy, rage, horror, tenderness, the latest album from singer-songwriter Sasami [who looks a lot like Aubrey Plaza], Squeeze, is unapologetic.

Yeah, I can see the resemblance. She's kooky, too.

The album, which focuses on catharsis [letting it all out in an enactment for relief], is an open invitation to femmes, people of color, queer folks, and anyone else to revel in pent-up frustration and disillusionment.

Sasami spoke to NPR's Sarah McCammon about her new album, Squeeze, released last Friday. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sarah McCammon (Weekend Edition): Some of your newer work is described as nu-metal. How does that differ from heavy metal?

Sasami Ashworth: Nu-metal is a genre that came out more in the early aughts and is a bit more of a blend of pop and metal, and at least the inspo [inspiration] that I get from it is a little bit less serious. It's a little bit more clown-y and bizarre and experimental.

SM: Which song best represents that vibe you're talking about?

SA: Probably "Skin A Rat." I was thinking about how a lot of the metal songs that I feel really connected to, [it's because of] the instrumentals.

Sometimes I don't feel as attached to the lyrics or the screaming part of it. So I wanted to employ the sonic elements that are emotionally connected to the feelings...

• Sasami finds catharsis in nu-metal on Squeeze (NPR)