Tempers Rise for Nirvana

“The seething raw power cut through with delicate emotion mapped my internal workings pretty accurately.”

Brett Callwood

January 4, 2022

Julia Khoroshilov

Jasmine and Eddie of NYC synth-pop duo Tempers told us about their love for Nirvana‘s under-loved third album.

Jasmine Golestaneh: Discovering Nirvana as a teenager was a turning point in my life, it gave me a new sense of belonging. In Utero was a cocoon I lived in, obsessively absorbing its chaotic nutrients. Poetic imagery of meat-eating orchids, body fluids, and ectoplasm—the sorrow, the rage, and the tenderness. I felt so understood. I began scribbling poetry, taught myself guitar, and started a band. The first song I ever performed was Tourette’s, at my school recital, I played guitar and my friend screamed at the top of her lungs. The headmistress’ face turned purple, parents were horrified, and I was gloriously thrilled.

Eddie Cooper: In Utero was everything a miserable kid like me wanted. The seething raw power cut through with delicate emotion mapped my internal workings pretty accurately. Kind of like Jasmine said, to me it felt like a place you could inhabit, with such varied landscapes to get lost in. Nowadays, as a less miserable adult, I think about the guts it took to make the record as a followup to Nevermind; it’s so inspiring to me how well they were able to expand their sound in different tonal directions simultaneously.

Tempers’ single “Unfamiliar” is out now. The New Meaning album is out April 1. They perform at Zebulon on April 20.

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