The new album from Chorusgirl, Shimmer And Spin, out tomorrow on Reckless Yes, is a fabulous record. I went into this a bit blind, having heard only a tiny bit by the band before, but I came away as a big fan of the group after a few plays of this new one.
Opener "In Dreams" is an elegant purr, all Florence and the Machine with more melody, while the brighter "No Goodbye" buzzes with flashes of the same kind of wit and verve that propelled Sleeper to such success in the Britpop boom. Elsewhere, "Demon Baby" is eerie goodness, while the languid and complex "Not Yours" bears a faint trace or two of Eighties-era Siouxsie about it. At their very best here, these players -- Silvi Wersing on vocals and guitar, Udo Westhoff on bass, Michael Boyle on drums, and Faith Taylor on lead guitar -- crank out ornate soundscapes that skirt the edges of shoegaze ("Kinetic Theory"), or travel a path that suggests Kate Bush and The Long Blondes ("Stitches") at the same time. Chorusgirl manage to make some familiar tropes feel altogether new, and each cut is wonderfully tuneful so, yeah, I'm a big fan now.
Shimmer And Spin is out tomorrow via Reckless Yes.
More details on Chorusgirl via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited promotional image]