There are some songs you vividly remember hearing for the first time. They sear themselves into your memory, like a firework in your head. Such as it was for me the first time I heard Chicago trio Horsegirl. It was one day in February last year. Scrolling through my Facebook feed there popped up a post from UK based shoegaze label Sonic Cathedral. Generally, when I see a post from them I sit up and take notice, so I clicked the link and ‘Ballroom Dance Scene’ filled my ears. I was mesmerised. I hadn’t heard anything like it, or had I? It was instantly familiar yet completely new to my ears. Soon I had the seven-inch single, and the flip side ‘Sea Life Sandwich Boy’ delivered in spades as well. Next came the single ‘Billy’, a portent for the album that I now hold in my hands.
Versions of Modern Performance has just been released by Matador Records and I’ve been really looking forward to getting it on to the speakers. Let’s see what Gigi Reece, Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein have in store for us.
The album opens on the tone poem ‘Electrolocation 1’. It’s a sombre mood piece which introduces some of the sonic textures we will enjoy later on in the record.
Our first song proper is the strident ‘Anti Glory’. The band implore you to ‘dance with me’ in this number. Echoes of Sonic Youth abound but only echoes. This is something new. Something vital.
‘Beautiful Song’ is just that. It’s light and airy vocal melody compete with the droning and metallic chimes of the guitars. This is an indication of how in control this young band are. The discordant backing in no way detracts from that melody, in fact it augments it. With guest guitars from Lee Ranaldo here it’s almost a passing of the torch.
There’s more of that skill on show in ‘Live and Ski’ next. This is a lesson on less is more. It’s wonderfully restrained to allow the storytelling to take place. The fragmented lyrics, almost stream of consciousness infer a story being told but leaves it open to the listener to interpret what that story is.
We pause here to allow the band to paint another sonic scene with their instruments. ‘Bog Bog 2’ might have come from Kevin Shields note pad or Thurston Moore’s 4 track but it didn’t. This is another example of Horsegirl crafting something new with familiar thread. One for the shoegazers for sure.
Next up is the triumphant ‘Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)’ which open undeniably like Breeders number; however, it quickly mutates into something else. There something British about the chorus section, like a fuzzier Primitives perhaps. The song continues to evolve and is a classic in the making. I absolutely the oohs over the closing chords.
‘The Fall of Horsegirl’ is the sound of three people at play with their instruments. The bass carrying the melody while the guitars shriek and wail in response. The section where they count to six is particularly affecting.
The opening riff of ‘Option 8’ is going to have the mosh pit in uproar. Again, there’s something of the Merseybeat sound to the opening line of the choruses but its there only momentarily before they reclaim the sound as all their own.
‘World of Pots and Pans’ has a nursery rhyme style vocal delivery over the trademark scuzzy guitars. The closing section builds as they sing the opening line “Amber was my brand-new friend” over and over. There’s loads of space on this song with the guitars stabbing away intermittently until those closing bars.
That space remains on the piano instrumental ‘The Guitar is Dead’. Its chiming notes over before it ever really begins. It’s an interesting interlude for sure and that heavy wink of a title is noted.
‘Homage to Birdnoculars’ brings those guitars back again. A resurrection. Inviting us to “Fall into my wormhole” the band chant mantra like. This is a hypnotic track, repetitious and hook laden right until the final note.
The album closes on the monumental single ‘Billy’. The riff on this one is massive and life affirming. This is how you finish an album. Leave em begging for more.
The strength of Horsegirl lies in their ability to work as a team, the vocal interplay in particular being a large part of that. There is no doubt this is band filtering their influences through the lens of their collective consciousness. Yes, there’s familiarity here, however, that familiarity is always slightly abstract and intangible, something you can’t quite put your finger on. I am so happy the album has lived up the promise of those early singles.
Versions of Modern Performance is out now on Matador Records from Bandcamp and the band’s own webstore. It is also available from your favourite indie record shops too. Make sure to follow the band on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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