Album Review: Girl Band – The Talkies

Since revolutionising the Irish music scene with their raucous debut, Holding Hands With Jamie, back in 2015, Girl Band have boldly challenged us to rethink everything we know about the laws of sounds and the limitations of rock.

However, after lighting up a vibrant path for loud, innovative and unapologetically Irish guitar bands, Girl Band quietly stepped out of the spotlight two years ago, after a slate of cancelled tour dates triggered by mental health issues.

Escaping away to Ballintubbert House in Laois last autumn, they began a deeply experimental recording process, exploring sonic possibilities throughout the stately manor and its concrete basement – culminating in their long-awaited return, in the form of The Talkies.

Even a cursory listen to the dark and dissonant twists and turns of the album reveal that critical acclaim and accolades were never the goal here. Facing inner-demons head-on, The Talkies takes inspiration from Kendrick Lamar’s ‘For Sale?’, by opening with claustrophobia-inducing heavy breathing. Solace is found in Dara Kiely’s primal scream-influenced vocal style – a healthy release in a world of caged emotions and social stigma. Indeed, despite the intensity of their sound, which at times can feel like sheer violence, the lyrics expose a raw vulnerability, and a twisted, earthy humour, as Girl Band revel in the absurdity of the everyday – referencing everyone from Roald Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake to Sesame Street characters, and packing a surprisingly poignant punch all the while.

No track on The Talkies exemplifies the extremes of Girl Band's experimental approach quite like 'Aibohphobia' – a track that channels the dream sequence in Twin Peaks by featuring reversed recordings of lyrics sung backwards. If that's not hard enough to get your head around, Dara had the ingenious idea to write the lyrics in palindromes, resulting in some of the most brilliantly bizarre opening lines in modern music: "Acrobat stab orca/ Do geese see God?/ Party booby trap."

Expanding their sound into previously inconceivable territories on the likes of 'Akineton', 'Prefab Castle' and 'Aibohphobia', Girl Band have crafted a project that defies any attempts at easy categorisation – but cements their legacy as one of the most innovative bands of their generation.

8/10