Horsegirl — the New York-via-Chicago trio of best friends Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece — unveil the new single/video, ‘Switch Over’, from their upcoming second album, Phonetics On and On, out February 14th via Matador Records. Watch the video HERE.
Following previously released singles , ‘246 8’ and ‘Julie’, ‘Switch Over’ feels almost motorik in its pulse as the track dances back and forth between Cheng and Lowenstein’s swapping vocals.
The ‘Switch Over’ video was directed by Guy Kozak, who came to the band with the idea of switching on / off and doubling concepts. Uncanny in its concept, the video explores the idea of “band-watching-band,” with layered shots of the trio watching themselves perform in the same room.
Produced by Cate Le Bon and recorded at The Loft in Chicago, Horsegirl’s original and sonic home, Phonetics On and On is an exploration of the lines between pop, minimalism, and playful experimentation. With the help of Le Bon, Horsegirl expands into bright and clear sonic territories utilizing new tools, including violins, synths, and gamelan tiles, to bring this world to life. It’s an album to dance to, as Reece’s dancing drum melodies and Lowenstein’s bright guitar leads direct your attention to the band’s chemistry and mastery of form.
There’s a confident simplicity to the songwriting here. Horsegirl writes with an unanticipated honesty, leading us through scenes of girlhood and youth, as tenderness reverberates back and forth across the recording. You can see the love that comes with being a band of best friends. It’s a love that is ever-present in Phonetics On and On.
Praise for previous single ‘2468’:
“Chicago’s most historically minded young indie-rock group enters college, and, accordingly, its Raincoats phase; a deliciously off-kilter alternate-universe playground chant ensues.” — New York Times, Best Songs of 2024
“An extra-dimensional pop song, it epitomises the originality that has made Horsegirl so lauded right from the get-go” – Clash
“Vibrating with the spindly twang and sawing violin of the Velvets and the Raincoats, the Chicago band consider their own Noah’s Arc – “They walk in twos!” – on this Cate Le Bon-produced return” – The Guardian
“… an initial waltz of fiddles and tapping drums frolics its way into something bigger, groovier, and more ambiguous (…) the track soon crystallises around an insatiably electric and hypnotic groove, the kind that might as well stretch into eternity.” — So Young
Phonetics On and On
out February 14th via Matador Records
PHONETICS ON AND ON TRACKLIST
- Where’d You Go
- Rock City
- In Twos
- 2468
- Well I Know You’re Shy
- Julie
- Switch Over
- Information Content
- Frontrunner
- Sport Meets Sound
- I Can’t Stand To See You
Horsegirl Online
