US Girls – ‘Scratch It’ album review: Sometimes less is less
THE SKINNY: ‘Multi-hyphenate’ is a truly eye-roll worthy phrase. I share that it’s only ever applied to women, as if women always need to be more than one thing, or as if it’s especially amazing when they are. But in the case of Meg Remy, I have to use it, as the various facets of her creative world are all at play here on US Girls’ Scratch It.
Remy does a lot. She’s the leader of this project. She’s a producer, although she handed over the reins to someone else here. She’s a composer who recently scored a new movie. But most crucially on this project, she’s an author.
I say that it is crucial because this feels like an album that could only be made by a writer. Each song feels like a short story in that not only is it sharply and neatly emotive, taking you on a journey in the run time, but it’s also very wordy. It’s an album that wants you to listen and listen attentively, so if you like to do that, it’s a treat. If your mind likes to wander, though, it’s not so much as without focusing on the words being sung, the music lacks a certain grip or excitement to get you back in if you lose your place.
But I guess that’s really the whole point. The track ‘Dear Patti’ feels revelatory in that way. As a writer and a musician, of course, Remy is a Patti Smith fan, and later on, when she meanders through an 11-minute-long poetic opus on ‘Bookends’, the influence is even more evident. Those two songs stand as the two obvious highlights, both the two best-made tracks, but as two that feel contextualised. I feel like I get to know Remy as an artist on those two, working in perfect tandem to see where she’s coming from as a creative mind.
The album was recorded on a mission to get out of the head and simply into the body, with the group of players deciding to record right to tape and get it all done in ten days. That spontaneity is heard in places, but it’s not quite enough. It does feel free to a degree, but it lacks fun or really, it lacks a sense of risk. Barring ‘Bookends’ as an obvious moment of boldness, the rest of the songs often blur into one as the soundscape stays close to the comfort zone. So even though the move to go more organic and cast off computer creation is noble, it lacks a certain sparkle or a certain exciting fizz.
For fans of: Cowboy novels.
A concluding comment from America’s current insane immigration administration: ‘Erm, are we still allowing Remy to call her project US Girls when she’s defected to Canada?’
Scratch It track by track
Release Date: June 20th | Producer: Maximillian Turnbull | Label: 4AD Ltd
‘Like James Said’: A country-disco tune that implores you to dance. The album’s mission to get out of its own head is on display here as they open up with a lot of fun. [2.5/5]
‘Dear Patti’: An ode to Patti Smith, but mostly an ode to being a creative woman trying to do it all. It’s a fan letter set to music, but one beautifully honouring of Smith’s impact. [3/5]
‘Firefly on the 4th July’: This record is super cohesive in the way that honours the live-to-tape mission of its craft, but it does get a little one-note. [2/5]
‘The Clearing’: The thing is, if you like Meg Remy’s vocals, you’ll love this. As I sit on the fence, not quite sure how I feel about it, it does make the most vocal-front tunes tricky. [2/5]
‘Walking Song’: The album is at its best when they put a bit more into it, like the country harmonicas, or the richer drums and guitars here. Sometimes, more is just more. [2.5/5]
‘Bookends’: An 11-minute-long opus comes as an oddly welcome surprise. It’s clear that Remy is a writer outside of music, and it’s clear that she’s a Patti Smith fan, as both smack you around the face here with this epic poem that meanders through melodies and styles. [3/5]
‘Emptying The Jimador’: After that, it feels kinda of exhausting to go back to the same sort of thing we had before. [2/5]
‘Pay Streak’: The change in instrumentation here is more than welcome as the band parts to make room for a pure and simple folk set-up that builds beautifully into something like a western movie soundtrack by the end. [2.5/5]
‘No Fruit’: Gorgeous guitars here, but I can’t shake the feeling that ‘Bookends’ should’ve been the finale. [2/5]
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