An antiquated term dating back to the 1500s, “grass widow” once was used to describe a woman whose husband had not died, but was absent nonetheless, whether he left for battle or in search of some elusive fortune. But weep not for the deserted; Grass Widow’s guitarist Raven Mahon explains the empowerment that the band sees in this abandonment: “The meaning for us isn’t about loneliness or helplessness. If anything, it’s the opposite; the band serves as a constant in our lives, it reinforces faculties of independence and perseverance.” Men: who needs ’em?
San Francisco natives Hannah Lew, Raven Mahon, and Lillian Maring have been on the music scene for some time now, but Past Time marks their first release on a major label, Kill Rock Stars, which is appropriately also the home of like-minded female punk-rock outfits Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and Erase Errata. And the album certainly makes a splash that their predecessors would be proud of. The 10 songs on Past Time are concise, complex, and intricate. Each instrument challenges the next, drummer Lillian’s frenetic rhythm pushes against Hannah’s bass play which in turn battles with Raven’s quick-fingered guitar skills. And they achieve all this, while engaging in three part harmonies; each voice knotting, interjecting, and overlapping with the others. These girls are not messing around.
