The Paranoid Style

The Paranoid Style is a sprawling garage-punk-pop outfit built around singer and songwriter Elizabeth Nelson, who counts T. Rex, the Mekons, and Elvis Costello among her influences. Nelson's articulate vocal delivery is fitting for a band named after historian Richard J. Hofstadter's 1964 essay "The Paranoid Style in American Politics." She and her husband, Timothy Bracy of the Mendoza Line, lead a fluctuating lineup, sometimes numbering over a dozen players. They established their protest- and satire-minded approach on a string of EPs leading up to their full-length debut, 2016's Rolling Disclosure. With the time period's socio-political climate providing endless inspiration and motivation, they continued to release a steady stream of EPs, singles, and LPs over the next decade, including the long-players A Goddamn Impossible Way of Life (2019), For Executive Meeting (2022), and The Interrogator (2024), with the latter welcoming the dB's' Peter Holsapple to the official lineup.