It’s exceedingly rare to hear something truly original. Something that’s actually breaking new ground, something that maybe we don’t even have words for just yet. Something like MSPAINT. In a time when so much musical territory feels well-trodden, MSPAINT are the exception. On their debut full-length Post-American, the Hattiesburg, Mississippi-based four-piece draw on everything from hardcore, to hip hop, to synth-punk, and beyond to make an unabashedly weird amalgam that sounds as fresh and compelling as it is instantly satisfying.
MSPAINT formed in Hattiesburg’s close-knit DIY music scene and are very much the sum of their parts. Made up of Randy Riley on bass, Nick Panella on synths, Quinn Mackey on drums, and mononymous vocalist Deedee, the pointedly guitarless band pull from each member’s individual tastes to make songs that grab you by the head and don’t let go. “We’re sort of equal parts uncompromising and collaborative,” Deedee explains. “Everyone’s musical aspirations are on each track in different ways. When we started, we knew there was something about it where there was no template, but we really believed in the songs and knew we needed to push it.”
This Hattiesburg scene brought the group together and also fostered their uniqueness. “Everything in the south and in Mississippi moves a little slower,” says Riley. “Sometimes we’re the last to get things. ike certain trends, or funding, or progressive ideas…a lot of time these things get to us later or not at all. But it also makes it so places like Hattiesburg are a little more self-contained and people can do whatever they want. They’re not affected by trends or what’s popular. It makes things very singular and cool.” In 2020, MSPAINT hit the ground running with a self-titled debut EP (first released on Earth Girl Records, and then later re-released on Convulse Records), and soon found themselves becoming one of the pillars of the Hattiesburg punk scene. “There’s always been a music community here but recently a lot more people have been moving here and starting bands,” says Riley. “A lot of our friends are putting in work to make spaces and to get the DIY punk circuit interested in coming there. It’s just becoming an environment where people are getting excited about being in bands and going to shows.” Deedee adds, “It’s definitely a bit of a state of mind. I think there’s just a lot of real artists right now who want to do their thing and that happens to be the mindset of our community.”
