Following the release of their debut album, Dead To Me, in May, Belfast-trio Girls Names return with their first new material since that record was written. ‘Black Saturday’ was recorded earlier in the year, and represents the band’s increasing gravitation towards melody without losing any of the strange darkness that has characterised their work to date.
Released as a digital single on 31st October – Halloween! – it coincides with the band’s tour of Italy. All dates below. Download an MP3 of the track from Pitchfork here, or stream below.
Sea Pinks are Girls Names reshuffled, but not just in terms of personnel – the latter’s drummer, Neil Brogan writes and records all of the Sea Pinks songs, and is backed by Cathal and Claire when playing live. Musically however, the comparisons should probably end there, and not just because it’s lazy to draw the most obvious connecting lines.
Gone are the vague allusions to the occult and the haunted detritus of a graying Belfast that characterise Girls Names, replaced with a forlorn jangle that’s melodic, sinuous and addictive. “Fountain Tesserae”, the opening track on their debut album Dead Seas (buy here), is typically abstract yet strangely affecting in its brevity, and a perfect entry point into Sea Pinks world. And what – or where – that world is is intriguing: seemingly positioned somewhere between the sun-dried Brooklyn sway of Beach Fossils, the singularity of early 80s Messthetics and a host of down-out-and-under Flying Nun bands. I guess that means it’s pretty much itself alone.
Clearly, Sea Pinks aren’t just another square in Girls Names’ bigger picture. They’re stand alone, awkward and out-of-step. Like most things purposeful and good.
Following the release of their debut album, Dead To Me, Belfast trio Girls Names have announced a series of dates in Italy in October. In advance of these shows, listen to “I Could Die”, a track from their album not previously available for streaming online.
OCTOBER
27th – Blah Blah, Torino
28th – Lio Bar, Brescia
29th – Circolo degli Artisti, Roma
30th – Mattatoio, Carpi
Dead To Me, the debut album from Belfast’s Girls Names is released this week. In promotion of the album’s release, the band are touring from the end of April through the start of May. All dates below.
Thanks to everyone who has helped up to this point. Big love to all.
25th April – The Menagerie, Belfast Dead To Me Release Party w/Third Man Theme + Charles Hurts
28th April – CQAF Marquee, Custom House Sq, Belfast w/Gang of Four
29th April – Auntie Annie’s Belfast, DJ Set w/Seapinks
30th April – Hello Operator, Dublin w/Cap Pas Cap + Magic Pockets
1st May – SFTOC Festival, King’s Arms, Salford, Manchester
2nd May – Cargo, London w/ O’Death
3rd May – Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham
4th May – Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
5th May – The Lexington, London w/ PS I Love You
6th May – Dead To Me London LP release party @ Shackwell Arms, London
21st May – The Menagerie, Belfast w/Chain and the Gang
Check out the video for “Bury Me” by Phillipa Bloomfield (Veronica Falls, Dignan Porch)
“Bury Me” features on Girls Names’ debut album, Dead To Me, released on Monday 25th April. The album also gets a US release through Slumberland the following day.
LIVE DATES
28th April – CQAF Marquee, Custom House Sq, Belfast w/Gang of Four
1st May – SFTOC Festival, Manchester
2nd May – UK TOUR TBA
21st May – The Menagerie, Belfast w/Chain and the Gang
Directed by Paddy Power, “Seance On A Wet Afternoon” is taken from Girls Names’ forthcoming debut album, Dead To Me. Released on 25th April, the record can be pre-ordered now direct from the Tough Love shop.
Download the MP3 of the track here and follow the band through their Tumblr here.
Girls Names release their debut album, Dead To Me, on Monday 25th April. The album also gets a US release through Slumberland the following day.
In advance of the album’s release, the track “Seance On A Wet Afternoon” has been made available to download for free (right click, save as below). The band have also confirmed a string of tour dates in the UK and Ireland, and play at our very own club night in London – No Being Weird – on Saturday 26th February. More details on that show here and the rest of the dates are listed below.
Thanks to Ryan Riley for the cover art and photographer Matthius Selderhius for allowing us to use his image.
TRACKLISTING
1. “Lawrence”
2. “I Could Die”
3. “When You Cry”
4. “No More Words”
5. “Nothing More To Say”
6. “I Lose”
7. “Cut Up”
8. “Bury Me”
9. “Kiss Goodbye”
10. “Seance On A Wet Afternoon”
17th Feb – Academy, Dublin w/British Sea Power
18th Feb – Spring & Airbrake, Belfast w/ British Sea Power
19th Feb – Ulster Hall, Belfast w/ Sleigh Bells
26th Feb – No Being Weird @ The Victory, London w/Let’s Wrestle, Proper Ornaments, Sea Pinks
27th Feb – Popfest@ The Lexington, London w/14 Iced Bears
3rd Mar – Silver Bullet, London
4th Mar – White Light @ The Lexington, London w/Shrag, Standard Fare
21st May – The Menagerie, Belfast w/Chain and the Gang
Photos from the the video shoot for forthcoming Girls Names’ album track, “Bury Me”. Directed by Philippa Bloomfield and filmed in Belfast at the weekend, it’s planned for release around late March. More details of the band’s debut album to follow very soon.
Girls Names recorded a session for BBC Introducing in NI with Rory McConnell last week.
Airing a few nights ago, you can listen again to the session, with two songs at 17 minutes in and a further two at 1hr 4 minutes. Excluding the cover of Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Angels and Devils”, the three original songs will feature on the band’s debut album, due in the Spring.
Slumberland (US) and Tough Love (UK) team up to release a split 7” featuring a track apiece from Belfast’s Girls Names and San Francisco’s Brilliant Colors. Released on 23rd November, the record is limited to just 600 copies worldwide and features artwork designed by Brilliant Colors’ singer, Jess Scott.
“I Lose” represents the next step in Girls Names’ evolution. Recorded as a three piece for the first time, the track is driven by an insistent cyclical riff, punctuated by Cathal Cully’s deceptively assured croon. Entitled “I Lose” as a response to Brilliant Colors track on the flip, the song is charged with a confidence that belies its title, Cully lifting two fingers to the past as he intones: “I don’t miss my old life”. The first of their new recordings, “I Lose” bodes well for their forthcoming debut album in early 2011.
San Francisco’s Brilliant Colors have staked-out a unique spot in the indie music landscape, inspired in equal parts by post-punk DIY fervor and the spiky pop of C86 and early Flying Nun/Creation label output. Their 2009 album, Introducing combined guitar buzz with dreamy melodies and rushing rhythms, forming a startling blend of The Dils and Shop Assistants. Fresh off the simultaneous release of singles on Slumberland and Make-A-Mess, and a UK tour with La La Vasquez, Brilliant Colors have hit the studio again to record “You Win”, this time with the estimable Ty Segall. Driven by an absurdly catchy vocal melody and the band’s now trademark distorted guitars, “You Win” is another anthem in Brilliant Colors’ ever-growing catalog, offering a superb taster for their new album, due Spring 2011.
