‘Yes, that good. In fact, it’s almost perfect‘ – Neill Dougan seems to like September Girls‘ new single Talking.
Some new bands just don’t mess around. Not for September Girls the false starts, mis-steps and changes of direction that have marked the early careers of many a fledgling outfit. Rather, the Dublin five-piece have taken the Ramones approach, which is to say they’ve arrived with sound, character and identity seemingly fully-formed, and by God they’re going to let you know about it.
Thus, for the band’s fourth release (on their third label), we get exactly what we might have expected: reverb-drenched, wall-of-sound, hook-laden garage pop. That all the EPs and singles so far inhabit the same stylistic territory is no criticism; on the contrary it suggests an admirable clarity of vision for such a (relatively) young group. Besides, the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Talking – two songs strong and coming in at just over five minutes in total – is the best thing they’ve done yet.
The title track is a glorious, razor sharp two-and-a-half minute blast of fuzz-laden punk-pop, the fine balance between sweet melody and lyrical vitriol expertly struck, the vocals buried low in the mix beneath rumbling bass and swathes of spacey guitars n’keys. Imagine, if you will, My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus And Mary Chain on a double date with The Bangles and Hope Sandoval, on speed. Yes, that good. In fact, it’s almost perfect.
We say ‘almost’ because, if anything, the b-side ‘Some For Me’ is even better, an utterly gorgeous pop gem featuring delirious vocal harmonies and a chorus so sweet and irresistible that – embarrassing as it is to admit – we almost get a bit choked up listening to it, like a great big Jessie. Frankly, it sounds like a girl-band classic-in-waiting.
At this rate, the September Girls album, when it arrives, is going to be a thing of beauty. Consider us smitten.
