Girl Scout
Headache
SELF-RELEASED
Wobbling back from their summer support tour with Alvvays, Swedish four-piece Girl Scout are baring their teeth with their new EP Headache. Produced by grunge-country fusionist Alex Farrar (MJ Lenderman, Indigo De Souza), their third and most self-assured EP yet seethes through pet peeves like self-importance and faking smiles with your neighbor as the band satirizes the normality of pretending life’s dull pains don’t exist.
Where subdued anguish coated last September’s Granny Music EP, Headache takes a pessimistic turn as sarcasm immediately erupts on opener “Desert Island Movies,” wherein ricocheting drum loops meet grunge distortion to evoke a tongue-in-cheek cultural critique in parity with UK peers Wolf Alice. From unabashedly confusing a niche “desert island” film with Cast Away to hating $35 bottles of wine and the people who buy them, vocalist Emma Jansson snarls at a society conforming to complacent narcissism instead of trying to be better. Cutting into small idiosyncrasies, Jansson mixes in social commentary (“You just want to feel important”) to convey how these superficialities throb behind her eyes.
In desperate need of an Advil, pounding power-pop mammoth “Honey” pairs indie-rock glare with syrupy sing-along lyrics to dissolve crushed feelings into feverish disappointment with only irony left in the medicine cabinet. Though the band explores relief in padded synth undertones and lush harmonies with title-track “Headache,” vague diagnoses are swatted away as we probe forward like ibuprofen entering the bloodstream. On the scorching single “I Just Needed You to Know,” red hot punk riffs help exaggerate the angst beneath Girl Scout’s migraine. Winding down with “I’m So Sorry,” the EP’s final moments unleash levels of catharsis that recall Indigo De Souza through guttural howls and repeated apologies, dropping us off right where we started: gritting our teeth and wincing in pain.
Deeply resonant and refreshingly candid, Headache magnifies the prism of the human condition at its worst. The EP spotlights themes of intense agitation and internal collapse, with all five tracks boasting heartfelt and callous release amplified by distortion, matter-of-fact storytelling, and exhilarating vocal performances which, taken as a whole, showcase the band’s unapologetic drive to make an impact on a world marked by cynics and misanthropes. Meanwhile, Girl Scout feels more secure in their sound than ever. Postulating vulnerable introspection through an ever-changing kaleidoscope of emotions, Headache pushes the barriers of indie rock into new, fiery terrain and reveals the raw underbelly of a generation fighting to make a change.
