Chicago trio Horsegirl had an exciting year, releasing their excellent first single in February via UK label Sonic Cathedral, that drew from classic post-punk, indie rock and shoegaze influences. They then signed to Matador in April -- they were still in high school -- and went on their first tour this fall. Next year looks be even bigger, with their first single for Matador, "BIlly," out in March, and more touring, including SXSW and their first NYC show. You can watch the video for "Billy" and listen to their dreamy debut 7" below.
We've been asking artists to send us end-of-year lists, and Horsegirl have sent us theirs, which includes music, movies, art, fashion, and more, both new and discovered. Penelope Lowenstein, Nora Cheng, and Gigi Reece together provided commentary as well. Check that out below.
Horsegirl's NYC show is at Market Hotel on March 22 and tickets are on sale. All dates are listed below.
HORSEGIRL'S TOP 10 OF 2021
Charlie Megira
Charlie Megira was a really great Israeli musician, now sort of cult figure—his stuff spanned so many genres, surf rock, new wave, exotica, punk, experimental… yet it all sounds like Charlie Megira. We all became obsessed with his music over this year and were super excited when we found out a documentary about him existed. We all managed to watch it for free when it was up on the Miami Jewish Film Festival site.
@sinisamackovic on instagram
Somehow we all individually came across Chloe Sevigny’s husband’s instagram. We have collectively decided that it is the coolest thing ever and reference it often.
Children’s art
Art made by kids is always a little special. They interpret form differently than older people do and their creative eye can never be mimicked exactly. A friend of ours has a younger sister whose art is especially awesome. It was a source inspiration for many of the Horsegirl visuals we made this year.
Artwork: Vera Case
Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (documentary)
We watched this Metallica documentary together over the summer and it has since become a classic amongst us and our friends. None of us are particularly big Metallica fans, but we found the band therapy scenes especially entertaining. The documentary is full of quotable moments. Our personal favorite—when Lars Ulrich complains that a new riff sounds like “stock to my ears”— is referenced in Horsegirl practice regularly.
Sandbox
Sandbox is this little phone app where you essentially “paint by pixel.” They have a feature where you can upload your own images—we spent way too much time during recording pixelizing our favorite record covers.
Making band shirts
Making band shirts for the bands you like seems kind of obvious (especially when official merch doesn’t exist).
Phoenix - 1901 (Cover by takatakboy)
Nothing much to say here except that this video has 300 views and they are probably all us.
Duster on the Dodge
This is a collection of early Duster cassette recordings. They are excellent and we have burned them onto a CD so we can listen to them in our AUX-less Buick. Be warned, they are kind of emotional, so listen with caution.
Kajillionaire (and OST)
We all separately watched Miranda July’s Kajillionaire in the past year and all separately thought it was incredible. One night, we were hanging out in Gigi’s basement and ended up listening to the soundtrack on loop six or so times.
Scarves
So warm. So hip! We have many and wear them constantly.
HORSEGIRL - 2022 TOUR DATES
MAR 16, 2022 AUSTIN, TX SXSW
MAR 17, 2021 AUSTIN, TX SXSW
MAR 19, 2022 P HILADELPHIA, PA PHILAMOCA
MAR 20, 2022 WASHINGTON, DC DC9
MAR 22, 2022 NEW YORK, NY MARKET HOTEL