LUNCH DUCHESS "CRYING FOR FUN" ALBUM REVIEW

Catchy hooks, clever phrasing, and complex emotions; Lunch Duchess’ album “Crying for Fun,” released in August, provides a melodramatically fun listen no matter what your mood. “Crying for Fun” contains super catchy vocal performances from Katharine Seggerman, especially on the back-to-back tracks of “Ride or Die” and “Better.” “Ride or Die” is a song about an unbalanced, potentially dangerous, but ultimately doomed romantic relationship, with an intimate piano intro that builds to a start-stop eruption of sound from the full band. “Better” is a bouncy, fun, and suggestive track about wanting better sex, and includes a very astute observation about society and its relationship with women’s sexuality. The album’s title “Crying for Fun” is a line taken from the opening track “Cry Pt. II,” and absolutely sums up the entire mood of the album. More often than not, a witty turn of phrase made me want to laugh and sigh. One of my favorite examples of this is from the song “Lust/Love,” a song about wanting a relationship, but acknowledging that things probably won’t work out and noting that things are hotter in the beginning of a relationship, “I don’t want to get to know you; that’s when things get messy, I’ve been told I can’t hold it down and you’ll just disappoint me.” Lunch Duchess’ instrumentals are energetic, occasionally surprising, and always a thrill to bop along to. The attitude of the songs ranges from an emotional introverted wreck (Cry Pt. II), to semi-obsessive love (“Make Me Love You More”), to my favorite track on the album, which is about loving your stupid body even when it’s sick/has allergies, and enjoying it for all it’s worth (“Body”). The last track “Mean” reminds me of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ song “Maps” for multiple reasons, but the most obvious reason is both songs are the last track on their respective albums and each takes a major stripped-down, departure from the rest of the album that comes before it. Every song on “Crying for Fun” is an absolute ear-worm, definitely give Lunch Duchess’ new album a spin.

(Melodic Noise) How's your day going?
(Lunch Duchess) Great! Today I got to bike in 75-degree weather, I worked on harmonies & hung out with my bandmate, and now I'm vaguely watching Netflix and snacking...so yeah, it was a pretty perfect day.

(MN) Band members?
(LD) We will have a different live lineup for upcoming shows, but here is everyone on the record:
Katharine Seggerman (me. she/her) - drums, vocals, songwriting
Sam Frederick (they/them) - guitar, backup vocals
Nicky Steves (they/she/him) - synthesizers, backup vocals
Matthew Sandstedt (he/him) - bass, backup vocals

(MN) Genre?
(LD) Baroque grunge

(MN( Label?
(LD) Heavy Meadow Records

(MN) Album name?
(LD) "Crying for Fun" - a lyric from the first track on the album, "Cry Pt. II," which itself is a reference to the song "Cry" off our first EP

(MN) What is the band’s origin story?
(LD) In 2015 (a particularly angsty year for me), I started jamming on drums and vocals with a guitarist, and the angular, grungey guitar work spoke to my soul. This was the kind of music I'd been wanting to make forever. As for the name, I was really enjoying the assonant mouthfeel of "Lunch Duchess" and decided to go for it.

(MN) Lyrically what stands out on the album?
(LD) Anxiety about relationships. Celebrations and reiterations of independence. Corporeal pleasure.

(MN) What was the inspiration behind the album?
(LD) The content spans disparate situations, but the underlying form and method is emotional exorcism. Songwriting is how I process what's going on at times when I don't fully understand the root of my distress.

(MN) What do you hope people take away from the album?
(LD) Earworms!

(MN) Is there something that connects the songs together?
(LD) Lyrical themes, structural style, instrumentation--all of it. Being trained as a drummer has greatly influenced how I write, and I think the abrupt changes in mood and time signature help to unify the songs.

(MN) Are you locals or transplants?
(LD) A mix. I'm from Massachusetts, Nicky's from North Dakota, Matthew is from Alaska, and Sam is from Minneapolis.

(MN) Who are some of your influences and Minnesota influences?
(LD) Everything I've ever listened to, probably, and everything my bandmates have listened to, running the gamut from pop-punk to metal to folk to math rock. I don't try to emulate anything specific in my songwriting, but sometimes certain artists that I'm listening to heavily at the time will make an appearance. For example, I was listening to a lot of Cat Power and Kurt Vile when I wrote "Ride or Die," which comes through in the insistent piano line and in one of the vocal melodies in the bridge.

(MN) Who is your favorite current Twin Cities artists?
(LD) I don't get out enough to answer this as best I could, but I love seeing Elle PF, Inside Voice, Seaberg, Kitten Forever, Sass, and Daisy Chains perform. The acts playing at our release show on August 31 are also some of my favorites: Dairyland (reuniting for one night only!), Neon Blaque, and E.T.

(MN) What is your favorite venue to play and see shows in Twin Cities?
(LD) This depends on my mood and what kind of music is on the bill, but I always love the vibe at Mortimer's.

(MN) What can fans expect when they come to your show?
(LD) Unadulterated emotion and insane guitar riffs.

(MN) Do you have a favorite or crazy memory of playing a show?
(LD) A crazy and UNfavorite memory was definitely when we were about to open for a touring band at 7th Street Entry in winter, and I realized I'd forgotten my headset microphone at my house. Note: I had just been broken up with and was a bit more frazzled than usual. So, I borrowed Sam's car, drove back to South Minneapolis, realized upon arrival that I didn't have my house key, miraculously got let in by my roommate who arrived 10 minutes after I did, grabbed my vocal mic...and then accidentally dropped Sam's car keys in deep snow due to a hole in my coat pocket. I spent a long time retracing my steps in the dark, digging through snow until my fingers were numb, and spiraling into guilt over losing my bandmate's car keys. BUT THEN I found them, frozen in the hole they had made in the snow, and I hurried back to downtown and somehow even found a good parking spot outside the venue.

(MN) Who are your dream tourmates?
(LD) Björk but she doesn't have to acknowledge us at all on the tour if she doesn't want to.

(MN) Any other hobbies?
(LD) Studying psychology, traveling, thrifting, sleeping.

(MN) What do you like about living in the Twin Cities?
(LD) It's slower paced than the east coast, cheaper, and convenient. I love convenience.

(MN) Anything that sets the Twin Cities’ scene apart from places you've toured?
(LD) Yes. It is just better. All around. Better.

(MN) Favorite places to grab food or drink in the Twin Cities?
(LD) Nightingale's food is some of my favorite, and I love happy hour at Kyatchi in South Minneapolis. I'm still looking for the perfect margarita in town, so if anyone has tips on that...hit me up.

(MN) Day jobs?
(LD) Yes. Intensively.

(MN) What are the band's plans for the future?
(LD) Enjoy the record release, possibly go on tour in the spring, and, for me, learn how to write songs when I'm happy.

You can listen to Lunch Duchess on Spotify or Bandcamp, or check out their video for “Cry Pt. II” below.

You can also catch Lunch Duchess live 10/17 at Mortimer’s (opening for Heart Bones) or 12/7 at Icehouse (opening for We Are The Willows).

Review and Interview by: Andrew Perrizo