New York – Girl Band has hamstrung themselves with their terrible name. It’s almost impossible to catch anyone’s attention in the infinite, overwhelming virtual SXSW of the Internet, so a first impression via a name can be of crucial importance. A band doesn’t want to allow a potential listener to write them off without hearing a note. So a band name has to, ideally, be intriguing and immediately communicate something about the band’s identity. Girl Band, therefore, has to explain to every potential listener that they are actually four Irish men who play acidic post-punk and are not the Supremes or whatever. They’re asking people to set aside justifiable skepticism toward their name. It’s too bad that they have to do this, because their music is really good.
Right before Girl Band took the Mercury Lounge’s stage at midnight on Friday, the sound guy, who had been blasting tonally inappropriate death metal all night, played Mclusky’s asshole-punk classic “To Hell With Good Intentions,” which helped provide a context for what Girl Band does. Both bands play sardonically humorous and musically adventurous post-punk that dares you to like it, and you do like it, somehow, possibly against your better judgment.
Mclusky is just one of a few post-punk and noise-rock bands (I also heard Pixies and Big Black) that act as touchstones for Girl Band. The biggest one is the Birthday Party, Nick Cave’s pre-Bad Seeds crew of hellions, whose structured chaos Girl Band admirably emulates. My companion for the show told me that at first he thought Girl Band was just making boring and repetitive noise, until he realized that Adam Faulkner’s pounding, metronomic drumming laid down an unshakeable foundation for Alan Duggan’s guitar, Daniel Fox’s bass, and Dara Kiely’s voice to trade moments in the spotlight and explore all kinds of fucked-up sounds.
Kiely in particular is magnetic. He is the rare indie vocalist whose only job is singing when the band plays live, so he makes his voice into another instrument. It’s all texture and no melody. He doesn’t sing so much as he has a tantrum, slurring and screaming and fixating on nonsensical phrases like a mentally ill man talking to himself on the street. Alan Duggan’s playing is inventive and impressive. The corrosive, metallic clang he creates sounds like he’s attacking his guitar with a screwdriver. It somehow manages to sound more nihilistic than Dara Kiely’s voice.
Girl Band knows exactly what they’re doing in a way that young bands often don’t. They played bathed in a Lynchian red light for the entirety of the set, which was an appropriate visual accompaniment to the steady, unnerving music. Their second-to-last song was a cover of electronic producer Blawan’s “Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?,” which, with its repetitive and inscrutable chanting, insistent beat, and rubbery bass, could have began as a Girl Band song. Girl Band recognized a kindred spirit.
Warning: NSFW
The EP and music video above, along with a video for the song “Lawman”, are pretty much the only things Girl Band has available on the Internet. They’ve pressed a few limited-issue vinyl singles, and those are gone, so that’s it. The thing about Girl Band, see, is that they don’t give a shit about things like branding or being understood or Google-ability. If they read this, they’ll probably laugh at me for not getting it. The fact that their name is ironic and dumb is part of the joke, because what kind of rube cares about a band name? Lol nothing matters, you know?
Girl Band’s The Early Years EP is out April 21 via Rough Trade. They’re on their first American tour through the end of the month.
Photo of Girl Band by Liam Mathews
Liam Mathews
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