When an album’s content gets you tapping in time, then it’s likely a good sign. This was the case when listening to the second album by Bella Union band Our Girl. It comes as no surprise really, as I had absorbed their 2018 album Stranger Today, displaying an almost My Bloody Valentine vibe, during which I knew these girls were going to be in my head for some time. Let me be honest here, I was, and always will be, a shoegazer, one who had witnessed Kevin Shields and co and their sound onslaught in the early 90s, and it was clear that there was no turning back. I was glad to hear that someone had so eloquently picked up on their mantle and driven the sound firmly into the time we are now living. As an album, The Good Kind had been difficult to complete, with earlier sessions recorded at Rockfield Studios failing to fully realise what the album should be. Sometimes the creative muse can be like that, with the three “…feeling as though some essential component had escaped them.” But after hearing the recordings back, said “It was the first time we had been on such different pages”, admitting they might even abandon the project. Thankfully, they didn’t and, after digging deep, reconnected with what had kept them together. They spent six weeks with Fern Ford, of The Big Moon at her home studio, pulling apart the Rockfield takes and recording some more. What emerged from this process became what we have the pleasure of hearing today.
An 11-track album has been created from these processes. Sometimes it takes climbing to the top of the hill to fully appreciate what you have. Although these might not hit the trigger in terms of my wish to have found a fresh MBV, it has built a solid work, with foundations that are going nowhere. This composition comprises the sometimes shoegaze elements I heard on Stranger Today, with bassist Josh Tyler hitting all the right notes, grounding their sound. Lauren Wilson is on sticks to build the framework around which singer/guitarist Soph Nathan sings, nightingale-like, completing the story. This is a very good album, but as I have said, differs from their first. If a fan can’t accept the evolution of a band, then I would have to say, perhaps they aren’t a genuine fan. This is like slipping into that warm bath, from the thigh-slapping of ‘It’ll Be Fine’, a number with its picked notes, solid timing and vocals reassuring the listener “…it’ll be fine…”. This positive outlook on life comes across as fresh, be it a health diagnosis, exam results, or somewhere you’ve never been before. Remember, ‘it’ll be fine’. And then what I had been looking for hits me straight between the ears, as ‘What You Told Me’ plays. After Tyler’s bass starts, Nathan’s guitar soars, in a 90s-feel onslaught of distorted guitar. But it’s not always like that and as peace descends, the third number on the album ‘Who Do You Love’ becomes our central focus. With the thump-thump of Wilson’s Bass drum taking us through the number, this is a track that poses the question, whilst at the same time celebrating that when you meet that special someone, it’s a reason for celebration.
As the album progresses through ‘The Good Kind’, a number in which I’m sure anyone would salute Lauren Wilson’s ability at her drum kit, Nathan spins her tale of heartbreak and unforgettable memories. Next, played at a similar pace, ‘Something About Me Being A Woman’ is Nathan’s expression of self, complete with the perfect back-line. ‘Relief’ follows, a track that caught me when first listening to the album. This I can only call upbeat shoegazing, or maybe music played when completing that report that has been left for so long. The album is over its crest now and ‘Unlike Anything’ appears like that someone you glanced at the end of the bar. With its almost submarine tones played on Nathan’s guitar, re-verb adds to the scene. Then the full number emerges from the silence. A bassline begins, with drums brought in soon after. It is a track which possesses a calm that speaks for the album. Then raw guitar, an unforgettable bassline and Nathan’s vocal, as ‘Something Exciting’ begins its role, and if anyone asks “…you’ll find a reason.”
Unlike their debut, this album is more grown-up. Less staring at the feet, sitting on large sofas, with cold cups of tea. Although dinner parties and copies of The Radio Times are yet to find themselves posted through the letterbox. This album has certainly found itself enjoying warm walks on late spring evenings while watching the sunset. ‘I Don’t Mind’ plays its tones from the speakers in the camper van, as shoegazing becomes as authentic as it’s going to get, without coming out of the 90s. An album which contains the spirit of the genre, and is well observed by the three artists responsible. The penultimate track, ’Sister’, comes complete with a thundering bass, pounding beats, swirling guitar and Nathan’s exquisite narration. It’s easy to forget you are listening to a band whose members may only have brushed the decade in which, musically, they are so adept. It ends on ‘Absences’, a track that brings together the feel of those stories told during this journey. A quieter, more chilled vibe is heard, documenting the experiences since the release of Stranger Today and recasting this sound into a new idea of how shoegaze should be.
