If It's Too Loud...

I absolutely adored Horsegirl's 2022 debut album Versions of Modern Performance , and their follow up, Phonetics On and On , released in February, is already a strong contender for best album of 2025. I wasn't able to make it when they played Boston for their first album, so I definitely wasn't going to miss out when they played Arts at the Armory in Somerville last week. I love Horsegirl's classic indie rock/alt-rock sound, and how perfectly they have captured the whole 90's indie rock boom while updating it to a more modern sound. Live they have even more of a 90's vibe going on with their performance. It's a mixture of still being a very young band and the 90's "whatever" attitude, but Horsegirl's members are compelling live performers. Without a lot of flair and without showing off, they let the music speak for itself. It was a surprisingly diverse crowd as far as ages went, with just as many teenagers in attendance as people old enough...

Photo by Chase Middleton The recent singles from Horesegirl have been a complete departure from their 2022 debut Versions of Modern Performance  while still sounding like themselves, and their latest one might be the best of all. "Frontrunner" is a relatively quiet and melancholy single, focused more on melody than noise. This is an absolutely stunning song filled with vocal harmonies that is truly special because of how stripped down it is. Horsegirl's previous singles from Phonetics On and On have reminded us of The Velvet Underground. "Frontrunner" is more along the lines of Kimya Dawson. Their new album is out in three days, and that might be too long for us to wait. You can watch the video for "Frontrunner" below. Phonetics On and On is due out February 14 on Matador Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Horsegirl, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a March 27 show at Arts ...

Photo by Ruby Faye Formerly Chicago and now New York based Horsegirl continue their musical evolution on their latest single. "Switch Over" lands in the middle of their original classic Matador Records indie rock sound and the more Velvet Underground-esque style of their last pair of singles. The song has a swirling, hypnotic sound as it slowly grows in intensity. It's like an amalgamation of bands like The Magnetic Fields, Beat Happening, and Sebadoh. "Switch Over" is oddly upbeat, and shows just how much Horsegirl have grown since 2022's Visions of Modern Performance , released when the members were still in high school. That album could easily have been a one-off album for a band so young, but with a song like "Switch Over," Horsegirl are proving that they're only just starting. You can watch the video for "Switch Over" below. Phonetics On and On is due out February 14 on Matador Records, and is available for pre-order here . For m...

Photo by Ruby Faye Horsegirl continues to evolve their classic indie rock sound with their latest single. The Chicago band is now in New York for college, and "Julie" reflects the change of cities. The new single is less Matador Records style indie rock and more along the lines of The Velvet Underground. It's a slow song that kind of drones on, but with plenty of odd and unexpected little flourishes throughout. Without those, "Julie" could almost (emphasis on almost) be a mainstream alt-rock song. It's definitely the type of song that gets more interesting and compelling the more you listen to it. There is a lot going on in the song, and it's almost impossible to absorb all of the melancholy it holds. "Julie" is helping to cement Horsegirl's upcoming album as one of the most anticipated of 2025. You can watch the video for "Julie" below. Phonetics On and On is due out February 14 on Matador Records, and is available for pre-order ...

Photo by Ruby Faye I was a huge fan of Horsegirl's 2022 album Versions of Modern Performance. It was my #4 album of that year, so I'm thrilled we have new music from the New York-via-Chicago trio. "2468" is a little more stripped down and reserved than we've heard from them previously, but that doesn't mean they're going mainstream. They're moved away from the 90's indie rock sound into something more surprisingly experimental. It sounds like The Velvet Underground trying out country, and then getting bored with that. As weird as "2468" can be, it's also oddly accessible. Horsegirl are showing huge growth with this new single, moving away from obvious 90's influences into a sound that is more their own. You can watch the video for "2468" below. Phonetics On and On is due for release February 14 on Matador Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Horsegirl, check out the artist's website . Upcoming t...

Wilco have been hosting a three day festival every other year for a while now, and we just haven't been able to make it to one yet. That might need to change for 2024 as the line up is bonkers. There are obviously multiple sets from Wilco planned for the weekend, but they brought their A-game with the rest of the line up. Highlights include the brilliant country-rock of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, the artsy post punk of England's Dry Cleaning, the influential power pop of Nick Lowe and Los Straightjackets, the Americana of Iris Dement, Wednesday's alt-country meets indie rock, Chicago's new favorite indie rockers Horsegirl, the hardcore punk of Soul Glo, more Chicago indie rock from Ratboys, and a ton more music! Plus, non musical entertainment like John Hodgman's Comedy Cabaret, the Song Exploder podcast, and more. Solid Sound 2024 will once again take place at Mass MoCA in North Adams, MA from June 28-30. Tickets and more information can be found here . The ful...

It's kind of weird being in your forties and absolutely loving a band made up of literal teenagers. The three members of Horsegirl would be much better equipped to have a conversation with my nieces, nephews, and daughter than me, but something about Versions of Modern Performance works for many middle aged dads out there. For me, it's the most nostalgic release of 2022. It's an album released by Matador that sounds like it was recorded in the 90's and shelved due to some weird legal issues only to be finally released in 2022. If that ended up being the story behind Versions of Modern Performance and Horsegirl turned out to be an indie rock Milli Vanilli, that would make more sense to me than three girls in high school perfectly capturing the sound of my college years twenty plus years later. The songs on this album have these great fuzzy guitar tones, fantastic harmonies (even if Horsegirl have perfected the 90's slacker drone), and drumming that holds everything t...

Photo by Carlos Lowenstein Not enough bands cover The Minutemen. The San Pedro, CA 80's punk legends are one of the most influential bands of all time, but I can't remember the last time I heard a band cover one of their songs. Since Horsegirl's Versions of Modern Performance is one of my favorite albums of the year, I was thrilled to see they released a cover of "History Lesson Part 2" off 1984's iconic Double Nickels on the Dime. It's one of the more mellow and groovy songs in the Minutemen's catalog, and Horsegirl don't stray very far from the original. Although, if anything, Horsegirl's version is just a tiny bit more noisy. But it's made me a bigger Horsegirl fan, and I'll be listening to Double Nickels on the Dime  for the foreseeable future, so it definitely did its job. The band says of the cover: “‘History Lesson Part 2’ has always been a punk manifesto for us. It was an unusual pick to cover considering the lyrics are so speci...

Photo by Cheryl Dunn It's crazy how three teenagers from Chicago are making music that sounds so much like my college years. Horsegirl just released a new single, and like so much of their music "Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)" sounds like classic Matador Records releases. It's this gloriously disjointed song that wanders around in its own direction and is as noisy as it is pop filled. This one is reminding me of Pavement meets Harmacy era Sebadoh. Horsegirl are a group that knows the history of indie rock better than most middle aged fans, and their music is a celebration of all of our favorite indie classics. Horsegirl says of their new video: “ The three of us filmed the ‘Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)’ video over one day in Penelope’s elementary school. The video provides a small look into our Chicago youth scene—it includes members of bands like Lifeguard, Friko, Dwaal Troupe, and Post Office Winter all grouped into oddball bands with weird gimmicks. ...

Photo by Cheryl Dunn Chicago's Horsegirl continue to put out the most classically Matador Records music that Matador has put out in years. Their latest song, "World of Pots and Pans," sounds like it should have been released sometime in the 90's. Sure, there is a touch of a modern pop sensibility to the song, but there were a lot more pop melodies in indie rock than we ever would have admitted back then. "World of Pots and Pans" is just a layer of fuzz and distortion masking a pop song. This is going to remind you of some of your favorite classic Matador bands. There are hints of everyone from Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Liz Phair... seriously, Horsegirl are like your favorite lost indie band from the 90's frozen in carbonite and brought back in 2022 still at their prime. Horsegirl says of the new song: “‘ World of Pots and Pans’ is the first love song Horsegirl has ever written—or the closest thing to it. We wrote it in Penelop...

Photo by Cheryl Dunn 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 int...