The South London outfit share their debut EP titled ‘Pleasurehead’.
NEW MUSIC | PHOTO BY CALI TITMUS | WORDS BY ADAM DAVIDSON
With the kind of heavy guitar work and selection of Britpop sounds that make Millennial hearts skip, Gaygirl have their influences neatly mapped out on ‘Pleasurehead’. Bex Morrison delivers the kind of vocals that will draw comparisons to Justine Frischmann’s Elastica heyday, but Gaygirl have more to offer than a throwback sound. On ‘Pleasurehead’, they give us four intense tunes to show us what they’re all about.
Starting with the stark lyrical ride of ‘MNausea’, Gaygirl counterbalance the softened first chorus by letting fly in the second, an effective dynamic shift that echoes similar moments across the EP. Morrison’s visceral metaphor, “I’m just the meat under your cleaver”, lands an early emotional gut punch. From the atmospheric intro to the powerchord-slamming peak, ‘MNausea’ is a strong, challenging opener to this EP.
Though these songs at their heart are based around two or three chords (This IS a rock four piece, after all) Gaygirl build on this to spiral out twists and surprises. ‘Pleasurehead’, while being an example of this structural complexity, is the only track that has a reasonable claim to a chorus hook – Morrison’s repetition of “Your pleasurehead” gives the first-time listener something to hang on to at the end of the song. It’s another highlight, giving a more toned-down groove than the rest of the EP.
Gaygirl’s style is pleasantly familiar. The bass solo in Mikkel’s mid-section, the 80s alt rock riff drop in ‘Pleasurehead’, the big chorus sound in ‘Killing It’, these are all recognizable, but Gaygirl manage to make them fresh. With Morrison’s voice flying through the sub-three minute songs (sometimes shouty, sometimes airy, but always melodic) this group make the kind of noise that will excite the club gig receptors in your brain. ‘Pleasurehead’ will make you yearn for the time when we can once again hear some loud music and get sweaty. Listen to the full EP on Spotify here.
hardofhearingmagazine.com 