Girls Names - The New Life
- Written by Peri Daley
Belfast based four-piece, Girls Names, release their second album The New Life. Stepping away from the garage-pop aesthetic of first album Dead To Me, they dive right into lo-fi post-punk and come out with something a lot darker. The record opens with 'Portrait', a 50 second melodic soundscape that sets the scene for the rest of the album. Taking us through ghostly melodies and memories, it sets up the entrance for lead single ‘Pittura Infamante’, which is hit with an astonishing baseline and dark guitar hums, and it sounds as though it could have easily come from The Smiths.
The record progresses with ‘Drawing Lines’, the clanging of the guitar and heaving drums makes the single’s retro sound perfect for lead vocalist Cathal Cully, a voice that embodies a gothic quality that often bares an uncanny resemblance to Ian Curtis'.
‘Hypnotic Regression’ employs a call and response effect between the vocals and guitars, it layers upon whispers atop distorted flange-heavy electronic sounds among surprisingly upbeat, '80's pop style riffs. There is a depth that builds within this track, the listener can imagine the instruments coming from different twisted characters of a much more twisted love story. 'Notion’ is the track which stands out more for its pop-like vocals, nobody would expect The New Life to be a pop album and any poppy aspects that are transparent have a distinctly gloomy, almost sinister, presence.
The New Life takes you on a journey of darkness and you feel as though you’re on a downward spiral, drinking a bottle of vodka and then filling it with your own sadness. Its repetitive rhythm contrasts with slower, echoing vocals and it sucks you in until you get further and further to the end. Once you’re there you are filled with a glimmer of hope, a record that’s so complex and stylish with an accessible '80’s beat. Girls Names have changed their style, and it serves them well.
The New Life is out now and available from amazon