Since the beginning of Girl Band, these guys have been eerily spectacular at creating worlds within their own universe in each of their songs. The atmospheres that emerge from the bent chords and indulgent but extraordinary use of distortion pedals is one unlike any other. Their videos, too, have been as grotesque as their songs are revolutionary.
When recording The Talkies, the band went method. They took to a place called Ballintubbert House on the outskirts of Dublin to record this album at the end of last year. I Googled it while on track 6, “Salmon of Knowledge,” got a spooky feeling, and looked over my shoulder to check and see what was there.
The first track shared off this album, “Shoulderblades,” is what you’d drink up most eagerly if you’ve been thirsty for more of the same since “Holding Hands With Jamie.” It has an immediacy that makes it impossible to hold a straight face; you’ve got to crack a smile at the frantic energy it emits.
Dara Kiely (vocals), Daniel Fox (bass), Adam Faulkner (drums), and Alan Duggan (guitar) wanted to make a record that essentially personifies the alien nature of this mansion and its echoing halls and booming cellar, in which they recorded half of the drums. They wanted to make you feel like you knew it, like you were in it. As a result, these songs may have less of a groove than before, but they’re held up with a different kind of integrity. There’s more than just one track on this record that’s under two minutes long, serving as a kind of hallway you have to walk through to get to the next storyline of a room/song.
Once you get to a song like “Laggard,” though, you’re reminded why you wanted to desperately to quench your thirst for this band. As usual, there’s a buildup of noise with percussion so simple in theory, but almost foreign in the context. Then there’s use of empty space and dynamics that keeps your heart pumping adrenaline in this specific Girl Band type of way. These songs breathe and creak in a way only and old creepy mansion could wheeze, but with the endurance of a marathon runner and frenetic energy of an olympic sprinter.
The Talkies is out everywhere today. You should listen to it now. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
