Bully, Melkbelly

Bully’s music is ferocious, cathartic, wounded and soul-searching, its screaming guitars and wailing vocals reminiscent of the band’s Sub Pop labelmates Sleater-Kinney and L7. And like those bands, Bully’s songs often feel like deeply personal diary entries set to snarling, accessible rock hooks. On the Nashville band’s second album, 2017’s Losing, singer/songwriter/guitarist/studio engineer Alicia Bognanno’s delivery ranges from seductive purr to full-throated howl, as she does her best to ignore an ex while still raging about the ways she was wronged: “If you don’t want to hear it, then don’t.” Over the record’s 12 tracks, she talks about her insecurities and personal hang-ups, about hiding social anxieties behind a steely veneer, about being pissed at the world and trying to fight oppression. “You don’t like it when I’m angry?” Bognanno asks near the end of the album. “Tough shit, learn to deal.”