Horsegirl – ‘Phonetics On and On’ album review: a coming-of-age journey
THE SKINNY: A few years ago, Horsegirl emerged from Chicago, harnessing a true DIY sensibility on their backs with a playful sense of penmanship on their tongues. The band, who are now only just out of their teens, have already crafted their second album, Phonetics On and On, which bears both youthful exuberance and the kind of uncertain emotion that comes with the transition from adolescence into adulthood.
This is a coming-of-age album inspired by 1980s indie-pop with hints of ‘70s no-wave and perhaps late-night thoughts scribbled into the nearest notebook. There is a distinctive tenderness here, as though the members of Horsegirl are nodding to the listener and telling them that these complicated emotions, which often sit beside more lighthearted feelings, are something many of us have to face as we grow up.
Between thoughts like “I’ve come to comfort shutting doors” and “I can’t stand to see you” are melodic “la di la la la…” and “da da da da” refrains, encouraging us to favour a gentle hum and a dance around our rooms over an anxiety-inducing realisation. There’s an equal mixture of maturity with a childlike sensibility at play on the album, although some songs are considerably more charming than others.
On tracks like ‘Sport Meets Sound’ and ‘In Twos’, it’s easy to find yourself tuning out, simply because they don’t offer the greatest sonic variety in terms of rhythm and pace. However, there are also those which remind you why you’re listening to the album, such as the strangely nostalgic ‘2468’ and the charming back-and-forth ‘Where’d You Go’.
Produced by Cate Le Bon, Horsegirl’s sophomore effort is an enchanting and fun album that communicates the experience of moving out of home, meeting new people, and navigating a new sense of freedom. Lyrically, the album isn’t full of complex and poetic lines, but the way in which Horsegirl’s sweet and often simple words are delivered inject them with the meaning required to make them work.
For fans of: Wearing brightly-coloured tights.
A concluding comment from my housemate: “An awful lot of ‘Da da da das’ and ‘ahoo ahoo ahoo-ing’ going on here for an album not made for children.”
Phonetics On and On track by track:
Release Date: February 14th | Producer: Cate Le Bon | Label: Matador
‘Where’d You Go’: Opening up the album on a cheery note is ‘Where’d You Go’, which sees members Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein exchange lines in a way that brings to mind underrated British bands like Marine Girls. With an erratic explosion of guitars at the end of the track, we get a great taste of what is to come on the rest of the record. [3.5/5]
‘Rock City’: The album takes on a mellower pace with its second song, a move that could potentially isolate listeners, but instead, the band’s captivating melodies carry the track along, only for it to pick up some frenetic energy before coming to an end. [3/5]
‘In Twos’: Again, a calmer soundscape is crafted, contrasting with the energy of the first song. Here, the band wields a sense of uncertainty, singing “Every good thing that I find I find I lose,” before repeating “I try and I try,” trailing off into ambiguity. [3/5]
‘2468’: Similar to the previous song, ‘2468’ uses a repetitive – slightly discordant – violin, but here, there is more playfulness and a strange sense of bittersweetness. With just a few lyrics, the band let their childlike delivery of the words buoy the song, which builds in pace while a thick bassline swells in the background. [3.5/5]
‘Well I Know You’re Shy’: A sweeter track that reflects new experiences of love and connecting with another, Lowenstein’s declarations of “I know you’re shy/ If you’d listen to me you’d know I want to say hi” are gentle and charming. [3.5/5]
‘Julie’: There is a lot of complexity to ‘Julie’, which is built on a steady and quiet palette, with repetitive lines like ‘I’ll think of you/ What to do do do do do I’ll think of you.” Yet, there are frantic bursts of guitar that continuously threaten the stability of the song. [3/5]
‘Switch Over’: Faster now, the band again works with minimal lyricism, but it’s not hard to get lost in the guitars, which are constantly moving forward as the drums keep up speed. [3.5/5]
‘Information Content’: At this point in the album, a little more variety would be greatly appreciated, yet we’re back to a sparse instrumental world where quiet vocal melodies attempt to add more texture. It’s a nice song, but at over four minutes long, there’s not enough to keep our attention until the end. [3/5]
‘Frontrunner’: While ‘Frontrunner’ is also another downtempo moment, it’s one of the album’s most beautiful ones. It feels as though we’ve been welcomed into a little cocoon made by the band, both intimate and universal in its lyrical content. [3.5/5]
‘Sport Meets Sound’: There’s not much separating this track from some others, with more “da da da” melodies and mellow guitar lines. It feels as though the band are beginning to run out of ideas here, with the band even borrowing lines from ‘Rock City’. While it works in merging the beginning and the end of the album, it doesn’t have enough impact for this to feel like a worthy enough creative decision. [3/5]
‘I Can’t Stand To See You’: “I can’t stand to see you/ I really oughta know/ Well I woke up to the radio/ Same old story and same old tune,” Cheng sings. The instrumentals balance a line between frustration and playfulness, with the band reckoning with their emotions through the cheery guitars, which contrast the lyrical content of the song. [3/5]
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