Horsegirl, after their already big outbreak in the Chicago indie scene, have renovated themselves to a new sound – a sound still faithful to themselves – and proudly wear their inspirations on their sleeves yet again. In a more experimental branch growing in the tree of the punk youth scene and now firmly planted in New York, the band has barreled into a rediscovery of their sound, themselves, the community that consumes their sound, and their original roots here in Chicagoland.
The origins of this gracious band are pretty tame and standard. Two women, Penelope Lowenstein and Nora Cheng, and Lowenstein’s brother, Isaac, planted the seeds of Horsegirl, playing their songs in a raw fashion that resonated with their fan group – albeit a small one. They explored line ups, some smaller, some bigger, some that should’ve worked but didn’t, yet it wasn’t until three people in this group decided to come together to finally form the iconic trio to master their iconic sound. With Cheng (guitar, vocals), Lowenstein (bass, vocals), and Gigi Reece (drums), the band began to emerge on a Chicago indie scene burgeoning with raw, talented acts such as Lifeguard, Grapetooth, and Beach Bunny. In these years, they released three singles, Forecast, Ballroom Dance Scene, and Sea Life Sandwich Boy.
In 2022, after they just got out of high school, they reached their stardom, as well as the entire “Hallogallo” scene (a zine group/DIY label started by Kai Slater, that included Horsegirl, alongside bands like Sharp Pins, Post Office Winter, Friko, and Lifeguard). That year, on June 2nd, they released their long awaited album, “Versions of Modern Performance” to well acclaimed praise and love, especially in the Chicago scene. Their sound ranged from shoegaze in, “Electrolocation 2”, to pop hit in, “Anti Glory”, to punk in “dirtbag transformation (still dirty)”, and overall just an ethereal sound in songs like “Beautiful song” and “Homage to Birdnoculars” and a banger of a closer with “Billy”. This landed them getting signed to Matador Records! They were set for the future… so what was the future of Horsegirl?
“Horsegirl’s radio silence somewhere between the space after versions and phonetics kind of left a weird gap within the alt rock and DIY rock scenes not just in Chicago but also kinda everywhere else, nothing could really fill the gap other then the occasional show or radio arrangement.” Said Cassian, an OPRF student, and member of the Chicago local music scene.
They played shows here and there, but hadn’t released any music in the year 2023, but in that time, after their summer tour, they moved homes, from Chicago to New York, in a hurdle to find their sounds and renew themselves as a band. In that time, they would update their Instagram with photos of shows, but on the occasion upload mysterious photos with the caption, “what is Horsegirl up to?”
“I’m surprised they were able to get out the stable and, y’know, present themselves as true Horsegirl.” said Declan Papanicholas, who has never listened to Horsegirl.
In their time in New York, they were cooking up their sophomore record, one that has been in the writing since the release of VOMP, that they played in their shows. people noticed their vague change in sound amongst their more popular songs, and outside of shows and such, they stayed radio silent for the majority of 2023 – 2024…
That is until on November 19th, 2024, they dropped their first single along with a music video, “2468,” then slowly, they dropped the next one, “Julie,” then the next, “Switch over,” and finally, “Frontrunner.” it was then announced that their NEXT record, called “Phonetics on and on,” will be dropped on February 14th, 2025. This 4 single release got people intrigued to the new Horsegirl, and their curiosity is about to pay if in the upcoming months, then days…
And then, on one fateful Valentines day of 2025, the album was released! They have taken their next step into showing the world the new sound of Horsegirl. What was that new sound?
This album opens with a fun indie pop beat, somewhat similar to their original record (although some releases did start off with a slow ambient track), but the way they opened it was more minimal and lowkey to those who knew Horsegirl. The entire album pays more homage to the inspirations of Horsegirl, a more pop sound yet it still sounds surreal and atmospheric in a way. plus the introduction to the use of violins, synths, possibly played by Reece, more faithful melodic singing from Penelope and Nora, and overall a new farm-like and small vibe to Horsegirl, one that still had teens moshing at shows of theirs.
“I think the more minimalist approach that Horsegirl takes with phonetics on and on is so fascinating and does something really interesting – it allows for the absence of instrumentation to become a presence of its own. I also loved it because I felt like their first album, lyrically, was so mysterious, but here we get to see a much more vulnerable approach to the music (like on Julie and Frontrunner)” said Marion, an OPRF student.
While they have a sound more minimalist to NY, it’s not hard to still feel a part of their roots back in Chicago in the mix of sounds. each song has a pattern of upbeat pop tunes such as “Where’d you go?”, “2468”, “switch over”, “Well I know you’re shy”, and “I can’t stand to see you”, to some slower and lowkey in sound such as “Sports meets sound” and “In twos”, to some more in experimental sounds and tempo, such as “Rock city”, “Julie”, and “Frontrunner.”
To the scene back at the home of Chi, they have released a record with an homage to their original sound, and what they lack in noise and dreamy-ness, they achieve in experiments, vocalization, and meaning. The record still lives up to their original to all fans, plus, they gain the ability to attract new ones from their new scene in NY. It’s a new sound, but it still sounds like Horsegirl. This album reached more of an audience, not only in Chicago, but the rest of the world through the internet. It got so much recognition that Anthony Fantano made a needle drop episode about them!
With the release of their record, they had their grand album release performance back in Chicago on February 22nd (also playing with Lifeguard and Answering Machines) at The Metro! playing the entirety of Phonetics on and on, gracing us with their true sound, and back at their original home, both of which had an article written on the Chicago tribune. at the start of the show in Chicago, Lowenstein, after playing their first two songs, went up to the mic, introduced themselves, and said, “It feels good to be home.”
“I think it was a beneficial hiatus as it makes me way more grateful for their presence and I think that break was good for the band too to let them figure out what’s next and I love that they’ve taken the step to say that they don’t wanna save indie rock, because why should they stress over something that big? I think overall it was beneficial but regardless I’m glad to have them back! phonetics rox!” Said Cassian.
Horsegirl lives in their sound, and it’s good to keep track of their roots back in the land of Chicago so we can learn of their origins and sound, and it would benefit the ears of multiple, including Morton West/East if they took a listen to this album (or their entire discography for that matter). Long live Horsegirl forever, and shall they ride off their success into Rock City.
