In Chicago with Horsegirl, the teen rock trio behind one of the years most confident albums.
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Want to understand the rock band Horsegirl?
Watch the members shop for music together.
Theyre not searching for themselves but for the good of the group.
Later, singer-guitarist Nora Cheng locatesThe Power Outby the English art-rock band Electrelane, a Horsegirl favorite.
Reece exclaims (not because they dont curse; the shorthand is an inside joke).
They beg Cheng for it since she already owns another Electrelane CD.
The bands just-released debut album,Versions of Modern Performance, is the best proof yet.
Signing with the label had been a dream for Horsegirl.
We were looking for Matador, Reece says.
A love of indie rock first brought the them together.
Sharing the music brought Lowenstein closer to it, too.
That only amplifiedwhen they formed Horsegirl around their growing shared tastes.
We just found all this purpose in it that you dont have when its just your parents music.
Past Horsegirl, many of the most promising rock acts at the moment are young musicians.
And young people are innovating outside that sphere as well, including Southern-gothic singer-songwriter Ethel Cain and art-rockers Geese.
All of these artists are building on easily identifiable rock touchstones in fresh ways.
They joined the others in organizing their shows and assisting one anothers creative efforts, building a self-sustaining scene.
We dont need anyone else, Lowenstein says.
You need a music video, someone can help you.
You need a poster, someone can do it for you.
Thinking about their scene, the song Born in the Wrong Time by Great Unwashed comes to mind.
Lowenstein remembers emailing restaurants and laundromats in her neighborhood, trying to book a gig.
Shuga was the only venue that responded, but the band was still thrilled.
(They already took pictures with a copy at Reckless.)
You guys are going to be fucking bananas big, Rosen tells them.
He says he ordered around 150 copies of their debut album, and the band laughs nervously.
Hopefully they sell, Reece jokes.
Impressed by Horsegirls musicianship, he pushed them to do multiple takes and kept his editing to a minimum.
I knew that they could do it.
This album couldnt have been made anywhere but Chicago, the band writes in the credits toModern Performance.
We know our comfortability here is something we will never, ever get somewhere else, Reece says.
Reece puts it more directly: Kids are going to bring punk rock back.
And we want to put our foot in the door of doing that.
