According to Japanese folklore, the nure-onna is a woman/snake hybrid who lives in the water and waits for someone unsuspecting to pass by. When a person shows up, they can hand off a baby-looking package. Once offered, it turns into an unbearable weight, thus keeping the victim in place and allowing the nure-onna to use their snake-like tongue to eat and kill them. In other stories, she’s simply chilling in the water trying to wash her hair, and she reacts violently to anyone who bothers her.

It’s 2022, we’ve all been a little on edge, and it seems like relatable mythology. Who doesn’t want to unburden themselves of a heavy load, and who hasn’t gotten a little testy when interrupted during relaxation? The nure-onna seemed to resonate with SASAMI, the Los Angeles songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, an image of it covers the new album, Squeeze, and inspired the direction of the album.

That duality, a woman’s head with a snake’s body, seem to reflect the interplay of the album — which sequences between softer indie songs and harder, industrial ones. It’s an album full of left turns; tightly wound guitar solos with Sheryl Crow attitude (“The Greatest”) are followed by something heavy and industrial that could be kin to Nine Inch Nails’ “Head like a Hole” (“Say It”).

There’s the country Liz Phair-sounding “Tried to Understand” up against “Sorry Entertainer,” a Daniel Johnston cover performed like an angry Courtney Love. There’s even a string ensemble with a musical interlude (“Feminine Water Turmoil”) which comes after a ‘90s riot grrrl moment on the title track. This duality has an ebb and flow, but still feels discordant and unsettling. And considering the influence, I think that’s the point.