Girlpool
Before the World Was Big
[Wichita]
Born of the once fertile LA weirdo scene surrounding DIY space The Smell, Girlpool have always traded in a singular, minimal sound comprising of guitar, bass and dual vocal harmony that is reminiscent of Beat Happening at their sparsest and most transcendent. On their debut full-length, Before the World Was Big, their unique approach has finally completed its gestation period. It delivers on the promise of their previous releases’ most striking moments and jettisons the duds that gave the impression of them being a better idea than band. In content, the record acts as pointedly modern meditation on indecision, loneliness and uncertainty about one’s own position in the world in spite of the didactic declarations on role and value we’re all subject to based on concerns outside of individual action; gender, generation, class.
The kicker is that despite the lyrical content, the harmony-obsessed musical approach consistently appeals to the value of togetherness. The sometimes morose, self analytical, occasionally righteously indignant lyrical concerns are thoughtfully toyed with in their delivery. Each reference to the invariably troubled first person singular is delivered via two voices intertwined to make a sound exponentially more powerful than the sum of its parts. A genuinely moving, sing-a-long, treatise on the value of friendship.
Words: Danny Wilson
Like this? Try These:
Beat Happening – You Turn Me On
Heavens to Betsy – Calculated
Diet Cig – Over Easy
