Power-punk-pop trio Potty Mouth releases new album SNAFU

Asked about favorite haunts when her band, Potty Mouth, comes to San Diego, drummer Victoria Mandanas replies, “The place where the seals are” — leaving unresolved whether she’s talking La Jolla, SeaWorld, or possibly both.

Regarding favorite places to play, she’s a little more definite. “We’ve played a handful of shows at the Che Café. I think the first was with Perfect Pussy back in 2013 or 2014. It was super fun and wild. I remember there were kids hanging from the rafters in there.”

The female power-punk-pop trio make it to the Soda Bar this time, on July 18. The new album SNAFU slams home with punk energy and bravado, proclaiming that if sarcasm and the “plastic” in day-to-day life are all we have to work with, then we push plastic to plausible and palpable, through passion. Not a very classic-punk idea, but a damn fine power pop position.

“We’ve been a band for eight years,” Mandanas, “so change is only natural. We’re more confident in what we do, and I think it shows.”

The band, originally a quartet, got together at Smith College in Western Massachusetts. Mandanas and bassist Ally Einbinder were enrolled, while guitarist/lead singer Abby Weems, still in high school, showed up sympatico on the scene. “Western Mass has tons of music,” Mandanas reflects. “Dinosaur Jr. is from there. There are always young people filtering in and out of the area because of the five-college consortium, and that definitely plays a big part in the music scene.”

“As for Smith, it’s a great place, but the majority of our formative musical experiences in this band took place outside of that context, with locals and students from neighboring colleges Hampshire and UMass.”

For a favorite SNAFU track Manadanas chose “Fencewalker,” because, she opines, “It’s a really great blend of pop and rock. It’s super fun to play, and I get to sing quite a bit which is always fun!”

The band co-wrote “Fencewalker” with Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock, which, in turn, lead to Potty Mouth opening for the Go-Go’s on a pair of dates last summer. Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla chimed in on the writing of another track, the super-sarcastic, sybaritic “Smash Hit.”

“Those ladies paved the way for bands like us,” Manadanas says of the Go-Go’s, “so it was definitely surreal and a huge honor.”