Gloom can be packaged well in music and Girls Names are as gloomy as they come. The band from Belfast, Northern Irelands first release Dead To Me was a combination of surf-pop and shoe-gaze while their latest release The New Life takes the gloom to another level by producing driving basslines complimented by leader singer Cathal Cullys long drawl The end result is an achingly beautiful album that gives several nods to the forbearers of the genre aswell as creating a musical space with which only they occupy. Every note is deliberate and this tight constraint lets the band focus with surgical precision on songs like career highlight "Hypnotic Regression" where the constant bass line is punctuated by a driving drum pattern and delayed guitar attacks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hheb-HCRHTk This is deliberate and thoughtful music, something which is severely lacking in the industry in recent time many would argue.
Music Journalism graduate and freelance writer from Northern Ireland, who enjoys scouring the music archives for the best sounds from the past and present. Writer for the awesome publications WhatCulture, Metal Injection, Scribol, The Gamer, and Prefix.
