popanzU.S. GIRLS (Toronto CA, 4AD)DEEPER (Chicago US, Sub Pop)
Originally from Illinois, Meg Remy is established as one of the most acclaimed songwriters and performers to emerge from Toronto’s eclectic underground music scene where she currently lives. As the creative force behind the musical entity U.S. GIRLS , her celebrated discography spans 15 years from early experimental works released on the Siltbreeze label, and includes three Polaris Prize shortlisted albums on 4AD: Half Free (2015), In A Poem Unlimited (2018), and Heavy Light (2020). All three albums also garnered Juno nominations for Best Alternative Album. Meg has toured extensively through Europe and North America, establishing a reputation for politically astute commentary and theatrical performances with her extended U.S. Girls band, leading her to be named the best live act of 2018 by Paste Magazine. As a platform and persona, U.S. Girls operates on a uniquely out-of-time wavelength, alternately wronged and rueful, classic but contemporary, bruised vignettes of poetic Americana through a feminist lens.
VIDEO DEEPER , a record that finds the band embracing open space, using synths to create shadows where bricks of guitars once would’ve blocked out the sun. The group – singer and guitarist Nic Gohl, guitarist Drew McBride, drummer Shiraz Bhatti, and bassist Kevin Fairbairn – were all graduates of Chicago’s rich DIY scene who came together around their love of Wire, Devo, Gang of Four, and Television. ‘Auto-Pain’ represents the constant wave of depression felt by many in everyday life. During the writing of the record, the band was forced to reckon with the loss of their former bandmate Mike Clawson. The album artwork features the now-demolished Prentice Women’s Hospital, capturing the band’s rounded-off brutalism, and the album title appears in Urdu, a nod to Bhatti’s Pakistani heritage. The record was recorded and mixed by Chicago scene luminary Dave Vettraino (Makaya McCraven, Dehd) and mastered by Greg Obis (Ne-Hi, Melkbelly).VIDEO