13 Oct 2015

Half Free by U.S. Girls

From The Sampler, 7:30 pm on 13 October 2015

U S Girls
U.S. Girls' Meghan Remy. Photograph supplied.

Jim Pinckney tunes in to the twisted pop of U.S. Girls Half Free.

U S Girls Half FreeIllinois born and now Toronto based artist Meghan Remy is certainly a curious one, sending out  a raft of divergent and often challenging signals over the space of numerous releases since 2007. In many respects the easiest fit is amongst the likes of 4AD labelmates Grimes, and Tuneyards, who make very different music that is hard to categorise, relentlessly, sometimes disastrously, adventurous and spottily successful. The sound quality may have been stepped up a little this time around, but it’s still rooted in the 4-track, lo-fi allure of her earlier recordings, that found a natural home in the shambling surrounds of labels like Stiltbreeze and Not Not Fun Records. While that material often tended to sound like a straight out fight, between her well studied pop tendencies and a bedroom producers mentality, with neither side necessarily winning, there is a more measured feeling of equilibrium and confidence to Half Free that suggests U.S. Girls is only just getting started.

Songs played: Sed Knife, New Age Thriller, Damn That Valley, Sororal Feelings, Window Shades, Navy & Cream

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