Far Out Meets: U.S. Girls’ Meghan Remy on being a mother in the music industry
Since the late 2000s, Meghan Remy has been making music under the name U.S Girls, most recently releasing the studio album Bless This Mess earlier this year. The record is an infectious collection of songs dealing with themes such as human connection, life’s paradoxes, and motherhood – all wrapped up in funk-infused rhythms and synth grooves.
During the lockdown period of 2020, Remy spent much of her time making music from home, sending demos to her friends over email. However, when she discovered that she was carrying twins in August of that year, Remy began working on the album that became Bless This Mess, unsure if she’d be able to work once the babies arrived. “It was out of necessity that I made [the album]. I’ve never done that before,” the musician explained to me during our interview. Describing the album as “a more piecemeal endeavour,” Remy detailed how the different stages of her pregnancy affected the creation process. She fluctuated between working at night or during the day, and by the third trimester, Remy could “barely breathe,” leaving her able to work minimal hours.
Despite this, Remy asserts that she doesn’t “feel that the record really screams pregnancy or motherhood,” besides the front cover and the final track, ‘Pump’, which samples the sound of a breast pump. Instead, much of the album’s sound stemmed from embracing a more optimistic outlook, inspired by being “at a place in my life where I would like to move away from feeling like life is a pit”. Detailing further, she explained: “That just doesn’t work for me anymore. I’m not sure if it works for anybody.” Consequently, this influenced the album’s upbeat and hopeful sound. “I’d like to think and dissect things and be critical, but I also want to have a good time, I want my body to have moments of feeling very free and connected to music,” she said before jokingly adding: “If the sound of the music matched the [lyrical] themes, it would be unlistenable. It would be like getting tortured.”
Remy explained that Bless This Mess was greatly influenced by the partnership of Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas, describing Eilish’s lyrics as “so personal and generous”. Taking note of how the sibling duo make music “all in a computer around the world, and it’s all just MIDI and synthetic instruments,” Remy found confidence in embracing these techniques and using them to form her own record.
Talking about non-musical influences, Remy also explained to me the impact of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2021 movie Licorice Pizza. Its retro setting spurred Remy to think about how “it’s hard to make something that’s set now because we hate now”, an idea that was channelled into the song ‘Screen Face’, asking herself, “can I write a song about devices and still make a good song that’s not clunky?” Additionally, the song was inspired by duets, something Remy sees as “becoming extinct”. She elucidated, “A duet is great because it’s two people talking about the same situation from two different points of view.” Evidently, Remy’s approach to creating the album blended old and new musical techniques, resulting in Bless This Mess‘ innovative yet timeless sound.
Off the back of the new material, Remy is set to tour the album around the United States and Canada in April, bringing her small children along for the ride. However, touring isn’t designed to be family-friendly, with Remy noting: “I don’t think the industry is accessible for anyone. Industries aren’t suitable for human beings. In industries, purpose is profit. I think we’re all convincing ourselves that industries have a nice side or like, ‘Oh, industries are becoming more inclusive’. No, they’re becoming more inclusive to make more money because they’ve been forced to. So I don’t think the industry is friendly to anybody.”
She continued: “Musicians are really struggling right now. They’re just really struggling. Mentally, monetarily, I think inspiration-wise, connection-wise, it’s a really uncertain brand new time. I’m grateful to be a mother because it’s keeping me grounded within it all. I have people that I’m responsible for now. So I have to really look at the decisions I’m making. I can’t go on tour for 40 days anymore with three days off. I can’t do those inhumane tours anymore where I get sick, and I’m run into the ground, and my band is run into the ground because my kids are gonna be travelling with me.”
As our conversation continued, Remy became visibly more passionate and described the “chokehold” that the music industry has upon musicians. “I got into doing this because I wanted to do whatever the opposite was of focusing on money,” she told me. “I was looking for some sort of escape from [monetary stress]. Unfortunately, I now find myself almost in a similar position because you can’t live without money. We’re all just really stuck”. However, Remy illuminated the importance of performing live and connecting with an audience, which she believes “transcends” the music industry. For Remy, the “industry can’t contain the music. It can’t stop music from being made. It also can’t contain performance. They can’t control that. And that will remain.”
Teasing the set-up for performing the new album live, which was created remotely (“It all had to be done on the computer”), Remy explained that she will have a five-piece band accompanying her. Previously, she has performed with nine or ten-piece outfits, so this is a considerable downsize. However, she affirmed that it’s “like a setup I haven’t really seen before. It’s very tech-heavy”. Remy emphasised the dichotomy between “tech and humanity” as an “interesting” concept that she has been eager to explore in a live setting. The musician assures that the upcoming performances will be “urgent”, “intense”, and definitely made “for dancing”.
With the release of Bless This Mess, Remy is set to gain even further recognition as one of the most innovative and intriguing figures in experimental pop. For now, the musician is looking forward to getting back on the road for the first time in three years, describing the ability to watch the audience and “the musicians I’ve assembled” as “the greatest joy”.
