Horsegirl have moved on to greener pastures: the last couple of years have seen big changes for singer-guitarists Penelope Lowenstein and Nora Cheng, plus drummer Gigi Reece, but the bond between them is stronger than ever.
With Lowenstein and Cheng moving to New York to study at NYU, the group have strayed from the thriving Chicago scene that nurtured them. "To find a community that's truly motivated by artistic energy and not by partying is really meaningful and gave us such a strong sense of purpose at an early age," Lowenstein says of their roots.
New York was not only a change of scene but a change of lifestyle: they'd never lived without their parents before, and it was the first time they hadn't recorded in the basement of Lowenstein's parents' house. It was an adjustment process, with the band now practicing in "a shitty warehouse space with the tiniest windows and no toilet paper," according to Cheng.
Change was also incorporated into the studio, with Welsh artist Cate Le Bon producing the band's sophomore album, Phonetics On and On, representing a big step for a band who'd had little outside interference in their recording process before. "Sometimes you feel like, 'What if bringing in someone I admire means I won't even be able to get vulnerable?'" Lowenstein says. "I was initially nervous on a personal level. Like, are we going to get along or is it going to be serious and professional? But it turned out to be a lovely experience. We were joking together and it was very sweet," Cheng says.
Le Bon encouraged the band to embrace spontaneity, picking up instruments they hadn't touched before, such as the wobbly strings on "2468" and a wide array of new textures. There's a brightness on Phonetics On and On which feels as though the band were let loose with paint brushes and watercolours, creating murals dedicated to growing pains and youthful innocence.
Phonetics On and On is much more personal than 2022's abstract Versions of Human Performance, something that Lowenstein says is another byproduct of moving to New York. "I felt like I was connecting with lyrics in a way I never did as a teenager. So, I think it came naturally and then I started to find myself, and all of us wanted to reflect our own lives that way and discover that new territory. I feel so much more connected with this record because the lyrics reflect such personal moments of my life."
This includes songs that reflect on girlhood. "I think of [it] as a moment of such confidence and freedom that I think adolescent girls and adult women really struggle with," Lowenstein says. Reece expands on that point: "Now, I feel like we're channeling that energy and strength and confidence we get from growing up as girls to channel it into femininity and the ways we can strip things back but still grab your attention on this new record."
Phonetics On and On has a danceability that mirrors that youthful exuberance and energy that the band members felt growing up. And within this period of growth, one of the few constants has been their relationship with each other. The way their rhythms connect and vocal harmonies complement each other feels symbiotic, and is the sound of three friends fully in sync.
It all comes together in the album's final line: "And it's oh so plain to see, how often I think sentimentally." It speaks to Phonetics On and On's lyrics about growing up, learning how to make mistakes together and heartbreak. Most importantly, it conveys the trio's bond, which is rooted in the experiences they've had together, and the chapters that are still being written.
"I think a lot of our relationship and friendship and collaboration has something to do with sentimentality," says Reece, "We're going to be friends down the line, look back at this and laugh."