On Horsegirl’s 2022 debut, Versions of Modern Performance, three Chicagoan gen Z musicians robed themselves in the noise of gen X indie-rock, their chaotic carapace of distortion and dynamics housing soft-centred pop and bruised melodies. But its fuzzy charms are eclipsed by this quantum leap of a second album, a masterpiece of intention and purposefulness. Produced by Cate Le Bon, Phonetics On and On prunes away the clatter and finds new power in restraint.
Their references now are the third Velvets album, the first Raincoats record, and the Feelies. Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein’s guitars are taut and brittle, and there’s not a wasted moment. With sonic austerity comes a newfound lyrical clarity; sweet songs of loneliness, displacement and confusion that find lucidity in simplicity – like Frontrunner’s refrain of “In the morning when you’re sleeping / I can’t wait” – sung in knowingly deadpan, subtle voices.
The results are a joy. 2468 is perfect minimalist pop, its giddy sharp edges piercing the subconscious like a barb; the glint of joy behind the dry, austere dispassion of Lowenstein’s vocal is exquisite, best heard on Well I Know You’re Shy; I Can’t Stand to See You is almost Strokes-esque in its concision, its embarrassment of hooks and pop flourishes. The album feels almost clockwork: every element machine-tooled, a place for everything, and everything in its place. But there’s no coldness here, the poignancy only accentuated by the poise with which these songs are delivered, the 7/8ths of the iceberg further revealing itself with each play.
