»Ba-da-da-da-da-da-da« (on the highlight »2468«) or »fa-fa-fa-li-la-di-da-la-la« (on the opener »Where’d You Go?«) or »he sings‚ da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da‘« (on »Sport Meets Sound«): It’s often these repetitive mantras that make Horsegirl’s indie rock so catchy, so poppy. The term Dadaism takes on a whole new meaning here. Yes, this music is minimalist, but – contrary to what the aforementioned choruses might suggest – never boring. In their repetitive simplicity, Horsegirl sound extremely free. Subtle shifts, like tiny mistakes that happened in the rehearsal room and were then interweaved, keep the songs alive. This is the case throughout »Phonetics On and On«, this young band’s magnificent second album.
Horsegirl – not to be confused with HorsegiirL, a popular hardcore DJ from Berlin – is an indie rock trio from Chicago featuring Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece. And when I say indie rock, I mean indie rock, because the band plays the genre as it was intended in the early 1990s: raw, scrappy, just different from the alternative rock that dominated that time. Their début album »Versions of Modern Performance«, released in 2022, was reminiscent of the likes of Yo La Tengo, Guided By Voices or Pavement; US (!) bands that, like Horsegirl, were released on the legendary Matador Records. Sure, Horsegirl are clearly a product of their influences, but that’s never been a bad thing. Especially when it comes to such timeless influences as the indie giants of the 1990s.
The same dream three times a week
»Phonetics On and On« was produced by singer-songwriter Cate LeBon, who also makes fantastic records for her own discography and has worked wonders as a helping hand for the likes of Wilco and Deerhunter. It may have been her input that pushed »Phonetics On and On« in a direction that seems much tidier than Horsegirl’s début album »Versions of Modern Performance«: The sound is less distorted and droning, all shoegaze influences have disappeared, instead the electric guitars mostly sound crystal clear. In the past, Horsegirl were often compared to Sonic Youth – a band known for their noisy, dissonant guitar escapades. On »Phonetics On and On«, such moments of noise are sporadic and brief, rather than making up the majority of the record. Sure, seemingly inappropriate notes are still thrown into the sound structure, but unlike before, they are always clearly audible and don’t get lost in the crashing sea of sound. Just like the vocals, which this time are even understandable…
In the course of this de-emphasis on physical energy, Horsegirl now sound more fragile, more introverted. In general, »Phonetics On and On« has a more melancholic mood compared to the début album, without being sentimental or whiny. »To have the same dream three times a week«, says the mellow lead single »Julie«, which is not a particularly sad line, but still expresses a certain melancholy meaning: At its most atmospheric, the album feels like a kind of hangover after a trip. In the best possible way.
You could have forgiven Horsegirl for a second album that was aesthetically closer to the band’s début, but the unmistakable development makes »Phonetics On and On« all the more satisfying: »Where’d You Go?» moves somewhere between The Modern Lovers and 1960s garage rock, subtle violins appear on »2468», »Frontrunner» starts with an atypical acoustic guitar. Horsegirl also learned this sense of expanding their own sound from their indie idols of the 1990s – as well as the fact that every good indie song has a good pop song at its core. And on »Phonetics On and On« pop melodies fly out of every corner. That’s why it’s such a great, catchy album. A real indie rock album, that is.
