Depending on what song you cue up, Screaming Tea Party can sound like a graceful, guitar-based indie pop combo with sweet if shaky harmonies and an obvious fondness for the Velvet Underground in their quiet moments, or a noisy, raging onslaught that suggests Thurston Moore jamming with Shellac -- and sometimes, you get a bit of both at the same time. Screaming Tea Party was formed in 2006 by bassist/vocalist Koichi, a Japanese émigré and veteran of Tokyo's fertile noise rock scene who had recently relocated to London. After discovering that his friend and occasional collaborator Niyan (guitar and vocals) had also moved to London, they decided to form a new band and joined forces with a drummer named Teresa. Teresa parted ways with the band to go to America in late 2007, and Nell, originally from Malaysia, shortly took her place. Incorporating a wide range of influences -- Koichi grew up listening to psychedelic folk and punk rock, classically trained Niyan follows noise and experimental music, and Nell is a self-described "Nineties kid" who cut her musical teeth listening to Hole and Marilyn Manson -- Screaming Tea Party wasted no time making a strong impression on the U.K. music scene with their manic stage shows (which often ended with Niyan strutting about in underwear and a gas mask). Stolen Records released Screaming Tea Party's debut EP, Death Egg, in February 2007, and a second EP, Golden Blue, followed in the fall of 2008, which included the singles "Holy Disaster" and "I'd Rather Be Stuck on the Stair Rail". ~ Mark Deming