Horsegirl: Phonetics On and On

The trajectory for Horsegirl has been swift: unsurprising considering the songs they write. Assured and with a youthful energy that cross-pollinates between generations, essentially, the trio, consisting of Nora Cheng (guitar/vocals), Penelope Lowenstein (bass/ vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums), write the kind of songs that have been swimming around your own head for years.

Making the move from their native Chicago to New York (Cheng and Lowenstein now study at NYU), Horsegirl make great advances on Phonetics On and On – their much-anticipated follow-up to 2022 debut LP, Versions of Modern Performance.

With the band enlisting Cate Le Bon to provide the sonic fairy dust, it proves to be an inspired choice. Convening at The Loft in Chicago over a two-week period, Phonetics On and On was recorded during the city’s coldest days of 2024; the studio heating, turned off to avoid sound interference, and it makes for an interesting juxtaposition, considering the warmth that Horsegirl dispenses through these songs.

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With hooks as sharp as hairpin turns and not-so-subtle Sonic Youth echoes, the brawn proficiency of Versions of Modern Performance is replaced on Phonetics On and On by a delicate, sparse brand of proto-punk. It’s largely down to Le Bon’s mastery from behind the soundboards, taming Horsegirl’s young energy with a dreamy, skeletal, less-is more approach.

Rock City is the perfect example. Hands down, one of the best tracks you’ll hear this year, the inventiveness is 24-carat gold, brimming with quirky melodies and hypnotic grooves that stay with you for days. It’s a fascinating new dimension Horsegirl explore, and it’s harnessed by Le Bon’s spacious production style.

On Where’d You Go and later during Information Content, Horsegirl combine finicky guitar lines that churn with a metallic ring likened to proto-punk touchstones, Television, and The Modern Lovers. It’s not the only time Horsegirl are inspired by their record collections, either. In Twos and Well I Know You’re Shylazy, the kind of Sunday morning jams to potter around the house to, permeating with the breezy verve of The Raincoats.

Then there’s 2468. Reinforced by Lownstein’s provoking bass chug, the song’s grid-like vocal patterns between her and Cheng see Horsegirl proving that straightforward songs are often the best. And it continues on Switch Over. Again, the pair’s effortless vocal combinations and hooping, West African-inspired rhythms moving to the fork in the road where punk meets pop music.

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For every Switch Over, Horsegirl weave in the slow burners, too. On Julie, there’s Nico-worship on tap, with a tale bordering on a lament, while Frontrunner is an innocent love song seemingly delivered around the campfire. Horsegirl, moving from the deadpan sing-speak to a warm purr through the flames. And the sleepy-eye, dream-punk of Sport Meets Sound sees Horsegirl not only in marching band mode, but also radiating that same warmth, untangling knots in the mind.

While some suggested that Versions of Modern Performance lacked variation at times, those same criticisms can’t be said of Phonetics On and On. This is a band far more confident in its vision, and while Cheng, Lowenstein and Reece are still growing as musicians and experiencing life through a youthful lens – a daunting prospect given their sharp ascent – it’s the brainfood needed to grow as a band and refine their songcraft. Horsegirl do that on Phonetics On and On, and while there’s more to come, here they’ve showcased just how much of a precocious talent they are.

Phonetics On and On is out now via Matador Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.