Girlpool’s Latest Single Is (Yet Again) A Masterclass In Songcraft

Girlpool are perhaps best defined by their unwavering, no-frills honesty. 

The group, comprised of Avery Tucker and Harmony Tividad, released their debut self-titled EP on Bandcamp in 2014, landing somewhere between Bratmobile and Kimya Dawson by melding group vocals, twangy and confrontational guitars, and plain but poignant lyricism. 

This sound became a staple of the Girlpool oeuvre, and their first studio release, ‘Before The World Was Big’ refined their style and cemented the band as an essential part of the mid-2010s indie scene.

Girlpool’s latest release, ‘Faultline’, marks a departure from the organic and raw sounds of their earlier work. Instead, a more mature sound comes in the form of delicate electronica, synthesisers and masterful production. The track is a slow march; rhythmic and crooning, without a defined verse/chorus structure that makes the song sound like a hazy confessional; a handwritten note being whispered out loud by Tividad. 

 

Her lyricism has never been more powerful— the track opens “Every day it’s Friday night / I hold my body like a butcher knife.” In part, the track serves as a reflection on Tucker’s status as one of the chief It-Girls of the 2020s and the general wandering feeling of navigating your mid-twenties: “Between the edge of entropy and woe / I wanted everything so much it grows / Until I can’t manage this appetite.” 

 

‘Faultine’ is a song about wanting; wanting to know yourself, to know someone else, to know what you want, to know what you don’t. It’s Girlpool doing heartbreak at its finest. It’s somehow both personal and universal. 

Despite how contemporary and evolved the track is, there’s something almost Dylan Thomas-esque about Tividad’s writing that gives the single a poetic timelessness marking the growth that the group has undergone. The penultimate verse of the track shows some of the most promising lyricism yet: “The angels make me sorry when I err / From the way they want me everywhere / Can’t you see I’m sinking further in / Wish you could reimburse my oxygen.” 

 

The release of ‘Faultline’ hints at the possibility of a highly-anticipated fourth studio album from the duo. Until then, Girlpool fans can check out their recently released remix EP (featuring mixes by Porches and Devonté Hinds of Blood Orange) and demos album. 

 

Charlie Alexandra

@charlotttesometimes

Image: Girlpool ‘Faultline’ Official Single Cover