Horsegirl - Phonetics On And On

Phonetics On and On is the second album from Horsegirl, the New York-via-Chicago trio of best friends Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein and Gigi Reece. Their 2022 debut Versions of Modern Performance was an album we raved about (“When you first check this one out, it might seem quite unfathomable that you haven't already heard it, a proper belter”), making this second studio set a highly anticipated arrival for us. Produced by the wonderful Cate Le Bon and recorded at The Loft in Chicago, this album is a huge step forward whilst also being sonically pared back, creating spaces between pop and minimalism with playful experimentation.

As the title suggests, there are so many smart and ingenious uses of linguistics across the album, hardly surprising when two thirds of the band are studying English. The coos, las and crackling prosody – like much of what the trio do – are so pop smart, leading the choruses and many of the album's euphoric highs. Alongside the inclusion of the violin timbres (and absolutely the year’s best violin at that!) they rightfully draw favourable comparisons to The Raincoats’ iconic self-titled debut. But none of this is to suggest that this is simply an album of noises; lyrically, it does a remarkable job of articulating big feelings through poignant whispers and pensive harmonies in low burrs. It is a vulnerable record in every way, and the way they express it with such understated clarity is seriously evocative.

The quartet – including Le Bon – prune back the sound and experiment unapologetically, which on all fronts is a huge triumph. A guitar-pop record par excellence, with minimal distortion and no cheap tricks. Pensive and dreamy, minimal and expansive, we have played it all year, On and On. And On and On…