Less is more as Horsegirl return with a stripped back and playful second album. On ‘Phonetics On and On’ the heavy feedback that soaked the Chicago trio’s debut is gone, replaced with breezy pop melodies and an evolved sound that still evokes ‘90s indie while feeling more personal.
Working with producer Cate Le Bon, the record's palette feels reminiscent of the Welsh artist’s own work, with a discordant guitar squeak or the strain of a vocal creating an honest and intimate sound.
The band took a break after the release of 2022’s ‘Versions of Modern Performance’, which came out when they were still in their teens. Part of their draw was their youth and the fact they were essentially kids playing music that sounded like it came from decades before the band were ever born.
Faced with being reviewed at an age where opinion can make a big impact, their youthfulness was used against them. So it’s welcoming to find Horsegirl, now in their early 20s, returning with an album that plays with themes of childhood while undercutting them with adult emotion.
In Twos is a dirge with a sparse angular sound. The lyric, “every car that passes by drives to you”, evoke staring out the window of a long journey as a child, but at the same time a deeply grown up sort of yearning. 2468, meanwhile, has a whimsical use of scratchy strings that might remind you of playing in the school band and vocals sung in a melody similar to a nursery rhyme.
Julie is a sad song that almost bitterly incorporates child-like elements, such as the sing-song repetition of the name and the final line: “What to do-da-do-da-do, I’ll think of you.” Switch On is a bright and upbeat track, with its “Switch on, switch off” refrain allowing you to imagine a small child gleefully playing with a light switch.
This playfulness also comes through in the band’s approach to structure, reflecting the chaotic energy that kids can sometimes have. Opener Where’d You Go? sets the tone with a driving upbeat guitar that leaps into an enjoyably disorderly solo. Equally, Rock City opens with Pavement-esque guitars and sweet singing before the band abruptly cuts into the vocal melody and shifts gears into a rhythmic build that leads to silence.
The paradox of the album’s child-like qualities is that these songs demonstrate a skillfulness that only experience can bring. Perhaps no longer kids in an adult world, Horsegirl are instead creating their own.
Horsegirl Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri June 20 2025 - LONDON Scala
Sat June 21 2025 - MANCHESTER Band on the Wall
Sun June 22 2025 - GLASGOW Mono - Kings Court
Tue June 24 2025 - DUBLIN Workmans Club
Thu June 26 2025 - BRISTOL Thekla
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