While most of their peers were cosplaying Suicide and the New York Dolls in the aughts, NYC duo Talk Normal capped off the decade with a pair of records that not only channeled Sonic Youth’s experimental, no-wave-y noise-rock, but was even celebrated by the band. Over a decade since we last heard from them, drummer Andrya Ambro has gone on to form Gold Dime, while guitarist Sarah Register has been a part of the bands Better Corners and Thrash Palace and contributed to Kim Gordon’s recent The Collective LP and has been touring with her since 2020.
Tapping into the wild experimentalism of Gordon’s latest chapter, Register also unveiled her first two solo singles last month, introducing her unique amalgamation of Laurie Anderson, Imogen Heap, and digital-era noise with “Right” and “Does It Hurt.” At under three minutes, that latter track neatly balances Register’s quiet vocals and gentle ambient compositions with chaotic noise mostly kept at bay until the final moments when harsh buzzing fills the track. It’s the perfect soundtrack for the ominous footage Register and Amy Khoshbin have shot over the years, which has now been compiled to help emphasize the track’s darkness and how it overcomes its lighter notes.
“To me, this video is a living, breathing piece of art—performance, memory, and movement held in a series of charged visual breaths,” Register shares. “It’s the clearest expression yet of the world I’ve been moving toward: where experimental pop, visual performance, and physical expression converge. What Amy Rose Khoshbin and I captured years ago now feels reborn—intimate, visceral, and opening toward something even larger.”
Check out Register’s multidimensional art piece below, and stream both singles here.
