Horsegirl
Phonetics On And On
Release Date: Feb 14, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Matador
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Phonetics On And On from Amazon
Album Review: Phonetics On And On by Horsegirl
Fairly Good, Based on 7 Critics
Based on rating 9/10
With Phonetics On and On, the Chicago trio of Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece should rightfully squash all preconceived notions of who they are as a band, or who they should be, by delivering unto the world a record full of bright riffs and tight rhythms, as well as an onslaught of hummable, coo-along melodies. Horsegirl was started in 2019 by the three friends, all still in high school when they recorded 2022's absolutely great Versions of Modern Performance, which had the unmistakable remnants of no wave and noise pop in its DNA, and featured Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley. There's likewise an effortless cool to Horsegirl's music, with taut playing that's never clinical, glowing harmonies and gleeful experimentation.
Based on rating 8/10
Horsegirl's sophomore album makes for a lovely little Valentine's Day package. Arriving, as noted, on February 14th, Phonetics On and On relies little on the atonal passages explored on the trio's debut. With Cate Le Bon on hand for production duties, the record is stripped down to its essence--sweetly scented, dry as dust. Quiet and catchy echoes of UK legends Buzzcocks and The Undertones reside here, minus the angst.
Based on rating 6/10
On their second LP, Horsegirl craves a minimalistic vision that reveals an unassuming side to their music. Striking in their immediacy, the Chicago trio aims for playfulness and openness exhibited in their fairly sparse guitar pop. Sometimes, like in the strings-laden 2468, they lock into a jaunty groove that, while lacking in lyrical acumen, brims with infectious energy.
Based on rating 6/10
Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece sound like exactly what they are, a three-piece band who recorded their first album, quite literally, in Lowenstein's parent's basement. Between that album and this one two of them relocated from Chicago to NYU, landing them a few miles away from where Velvet Underground recorded their own debut. The three best friends decamped back to a loft studio in icy Chicago in January 2024 to record their sophomore album, but I sense that some of the Manhattan sharpness - a clean-cut brittleness which has defined every New York guitar band from the Strokes to LCD - stayed with them.
Based on rating 1/10
Versions of Modern Performance pinned Horsegirl as promising students of indie rock. Their 2022 full-length debut, recorded while the girls--Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece--were finishing high school, read like a character study. The album nodded to 1980s and 1990s luminaries such as Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Belle & Sebastian, Pavement, and bands from Australia’s coveted Flying Nun label.
Opinion: Excellent
It's only natural that as we grow older and our tastes, cultural references, and surroundings change, they inherently evolve our ideas of how art and friendship can be embodied. In 2022, on debut 'Versions Of Modern Performance', Horsegirl were noisy, high school art rockers; second time around, the Chicago trio of Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece present as life companions via a charming, slacker-inspired indie pop record. As the instruments of first track 'Where'd You Go' play on, its rolling drums and bright tonality cement the fact that Horsegirl aren't clinging to their Sonic Youth phase.
Opinion: Very Good
Horsegirl's Phonetics On and On emanates side-character energy. The peripheral perspectives across its 11 tracks are unassuming and sheepish (one song is even titled "Well I Know You're Shy"). This attitude is complemented by a sound that's more pared-down and less noisy than anything on the Chicago band's 2022 debut, Versions of Modern Performance.
'Phonetics On And On'
is available now