We've been big on Chicago's Horsegirl ever since we first heard "Ballroom Dance Scene" last year. The band now consists of two college freshmen and one high school senior and are set to release their debut album. It's fitting that the album will be on Matador since the first single just sounds like classic Matador. "Anti-glory" is brilliant old school indie rock. It's filled with swirling and clunky guitars and that speak singing we all adored thirty years ago. Besides just being a nostalgia fest for the 90's, "Anti-glory" is a great song. It rocks in the best possible way, and besides having a throwback sound, it does sound like a modern take on a classic sound. This is what many of us wish some of our nostalgic favorites sounded like as they try to update their sound.
Horsegirl say of their new song:
“We wrote Anti-glory almost by accident, while messing around with an old song during rehearsal. The song fell into place immediately, and looking back, we have no idea how we wrote it. As always, this song and album are for Chicago, our friends, our friend’s bands, everyone who can play the guitar, and everyone who can’t play the guitar.”
You can watch the video for "Anti-glory" below. Versions of Modern Performance is due out June 3 on Matador Records, and can be pre-ordered and pre-saved here. For more on Horsegirl, check out the band's Instagram and Twitter. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Wed. March 16 - Austin, TX @ SXSW - FLOODfest @ Mohawk @ 2:00pm Wed. March 16 - Austin, TX @ SXSW - Roskilde Festival @ Cheer Up Charlie’s @ 10:00pm Thu. March 17 - Austin, TX @ SXSW - SX San Jose @ Hotel San Jose Thu. March 17 - Austin, TX @ SXSW - Gorilla vs. Bear x Luminelle @ Seven Grand @ 11:15pm Sat. March 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA Sun. March 20 - Washington, DC @ DC9 Tue. March 22 - Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel Sun. May 29 - Allston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival Sun. Jun. 5 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (RECORD RELEASE SHOW) ^ Fri. Jun. 10 - Giessen, DE @ Stadt ohne Meer Sun. Jun. 12 - Mannheim, DE @ Maifield Derby Thu. Jun. 16 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix Bar Fri. Jun. 17 - Paris, FR @ Pop Up Du Label Sun. Jun. 19 - London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (EARLY SHOW) Sun. Jun. 19 - London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (LATE SHOW) Tue. Jun. 21 - Manchester, UK @ YES (Basement) Wed. Jun. 22 - London, UK @ Bermondsey Social Club Sun. Jun. 26 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol Tue. Jun. 28 - Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn Wed. Jun. 29 - Berlin, DE @ Monarch Fri. Jul. 1 - Denmark, DE @ Roskilde Festival 2022 Sat. Jul. 2 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Upstairs Fri. Jul. 15 - Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall * Sat. Jul. 16 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos * Sun. Jul. 17 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall * Tue. Jul. 19 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Thu. Jul. 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon * Fri. Jul. 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * Sat. Jul. 23 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * Tue. Jul. 26 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line * Wed. Jul. 27 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon * Fri. Jul. 30 - Sat. Jul. 31 - Detroit, MI @ Mo Pop Festival Tue. Aug. 2 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe * Wed. Aug. 3 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * Fri. Aug. 5 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground * Sat. Aug. 6 - Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus * ^ w/ Lifeguard, Friko, Post Office Winter * w/ Dummy
Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing, on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...
Photo by Hanna Katrina I never thought we'd be covering a band that formed after a karaoke party doing a song about Meghan Markle, but 2019 is weird. Also, Dry Cleaning are a shockingly great band. Only forming two years ago, the band is set to release their debut EP next month. "Magic of Meghan" is obviously about Meghan Markle, but it might be the only post punk and new wave influenced song about the Duchess of Sussex. As the band says about the song: “ The song acknowledges that following the lives of those in the public eye can provide people with an escape; an outlet for difficult emotions, and subsequently help them to cope with hard times in their lives, ” says Florence Shaw. “ The song is, in part, intended to serve as a thank you to Meghan for this service (‘You got engaged on the day that I moved out. It’s ok. She’s a smasher, perfectly suited to the role’). The song also aims to highlight how the news media dissect her decisions (‘Never has one outfit bee...