The Stranger:
The story of the Parenthetical Girls begins, somewhat inauspiciously, in Everett, Washington. It’s a place that bandleader Zac Pennington describes as a “failed mill town,” before noting (parenthetically) that it is “considerably less romantic than that manipulative phrasing is meant to suggest.” “It’s one of those perfect-storm places,” Pennington goes on to say. “It’s got that blend of zero ambition and general hostility that, to people of a certain temperament, can be extremely motivating—as in, ‘Get out now!'” Pennington got out as soon as he could, moving to Seattle in 2000.