U.S. Girls

Summary

U.S. Girls is a Toronto-based experimental pop project formed in 2007, consisting solely of American musician and record producer Meghan Remy.[3] She had released music on a variety of independent record labels before signing to 4AD in 2015.[4]

U.S. Girls
Remy in 2019
Remy in 2019
Background information
Birth nameMeghan Remy
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
GenresArt pop
Years active2007–present
Labels
Websiteyousgirls.com

Half Free, her first record for 4AD, was released the same year.[5] It garnered a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2016,[6] and was a shortlisted finalist for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize.[7] Her next records In a Poem Unlimited (2018)[8] and Heavy Light (2020)[9] also received the same accolades.

Remy collaborates with a number of Toronto-based musicians on both songwriting and music production.[10][11]

Background edit

Remy grew up in Illinois and attended a Catholic high school. She was raised mostly by her mother. She was in her first punk band as a teenager. She cites riot grrrl and Crass as some of her early influences.[12]

She attended an art college in Oregon, concentrating on paper arts and graphic design.[13]

The name "U.S. Girls" originated from a casual conversation she was having with a friend talking about a European band coming to town. She joked, "Wait 'til they get a look at these U.S. girls!" and the phrase stuck.[14]

Music career edit

Remy began making music in the mid-2000s, playing in bands in Chicago and Portland. In 2008 she started recording solo at home.[14]

After signing to 4AD in 2015, first album Half Free received critical acclaim from publications including The Quietus.[15] She performed the album at festivals through 2016, including Primavera Sound.[16]

In 2018, Remy's sixth studio album, In a Poem Unlimited, was released on 4AD.[17] and was awarded Pitchfork's Best New Music accolade.[18] She made her Coachella debut in 2019 as part of the album cycle.[19]

2020's Heavy Light was released shortly before the pandemic, preceded by singles "4 American Dollars" and "Overtime".

Her 2023 album Bless This Mess was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.[20]

Writing career edit

In 2021, Remy released her first book, Begin by Telling, published by Bookhug Press.[21] CBC.ca wrote that " experimental pop sensation Meg Remy spins a web out from her body to myriad corners of American hyper-culture. Through illustrated lyric essays depicting memories from early childhood to present day, Remy paints a stark portrait of a spectacle-driven country."[22]

Personal life edit

Remy later moved the band to Toronto from Chicago in 2010 after marrying Canadian musician Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull.[23] Alongside Turnbull, she operates record label Calico Corp., and sometimes performs as a guest vocalist with Turnbull's Badge Époque Ensemble.[24]

She is a permanent resident of Canada.

Discography edit

Studio albums

Split albums

  • U.S. Girls / Slim Twig (2011) (with Slim Twig)

EPs

  • Kankakee Memories (2008)
  • U.S. Girls/Dirty Beaches Split EP (2011)
  • Free Advice Column (2013)

Live albums

  • Lives (2023)

Compilations

  • Early Works (2011)

Singles edit

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA

[25]
"U.S. Girls Cassingle": Found on the Ground/St Jude Boys Choir[26] 2008 Non-LP singles
"Me + Yoko"[27] 2009
"Lunar Life"[28] 2010
"Salt Road"/"Won't Bother I"[29]
"The Boy Is Mine" (Split single with Deep Purr)[30] 2011 U.S. Girls on Kraak
"The Island Song"[31]
"Jack"[32] 2012 Gem
"Slim Baby"[33]
"Rosemary"[34]
"Damn That Valley"[35] 2015 Half Free
"Woman's Work"[36]
"Window Shades"[37]
"M.A.H"[38] 2017 In a Poem Unlimited
"Velvet 4 Sale"[39]
"Pearly Gates"[40] 2018
"Rosebud"[41]
"Overtime"[42] 2020 Heavy Light
"4 American Dollars"[43] 33
"Santa Stay Home"[44] Non-album single
"Junkyard"[45] 2021 Bills & Aches & Blues (various artists)
"So Typically Now"[46] 2022 Bless This Mess
"Bless This Mess"[47]
"Futures Bet" 2023
"Tux"[48]

References edit

  1. ^ Cafolla, Anna. "U.S. Girls: A Fresh Perspective". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  2. ^ Clayton-Lea, Tony (October 2, 2015). "U.S. Girls: Half Free". The Irish Times. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  3. ^ "U.S. Girls’ Meg Remy Is an American Badass Living in Canada". Noisey, September 24, 2015.
  4. ^ "New band of the Week: U.S. Girls". The Guardian, April 17, 2015.
  5. ^ "U.S. Girls: Soaking It All In". Under the Radar, February 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Junos 2016: Complete list of Juno Award nominees". CBC News, February 2, 2016.
  7. ^ Brophy, Aaron (14 July 2016). "2016 Polaris Music Short List Is Here". Polarismusicprize.ca. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Polaris Prize 2018 Long List: Arcade Fire, U.S. Girls, Gord Downie, More". Pitchfork, June 14, 2018
  9. ^ "The Polaris Prize Shortlist of Nominees Have Been Announced". [Smack Media], July 16, 2020
  10. ^ Hua, Hsu. "U.S. Girls' Collection of Characters". The New Yorker.
  11. ^ Berman, Stuart (27 February 2018). "Welcome to the U.S. Girls Universe". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  12. ^ O'Connell, Sharon (2015-10-19). "US Girls: 'I like to do the opposite of everything that is making money'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  13. ^ "Artist Profile: U.S. Girls". AdHoc.fm. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  14. ^ a b "Losing the Little Labels | Pitchfork". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  15. ^ "Reviews: U.S. Girls - Half Free". The Quietus, October 12, 2015
  16. ^ / "Primavera 2016". BrooklynVegan, January 21, 2016
  17. ^ "The official website for independent record label 4AD". 4ad.com. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "Reviews: U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited". Pitchfork, February 20, 2018
  19. ^ "All The Women You Need To See On Coachella's Lineup — From The Fields Or Your Couch". Refinery29, April 11, 2019
  20. ^ "2023 Polaris Music Prize long list: Feist, Jessie Reyez and more". CBC Music, June 13, 2023.
  21. ^ "U.S. Girls - Begin by Telling" Bookhug Press, March 16, 2021
  22. ^ "Begin by Telling". CBC.ca, February 1, 2021
  23. ^ "U.S. Girls: focusing on the darkness in many women's lives". Now, December 9, 2015.
  24. ^ Stuart Berman, "Badge Époque Ensemble, Self Help". Pitchfork, November 21, 2020.
  25. ^ "Adult Alternative Songs - May 30, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  26. ^ "U.S. Girls - U.S. Girls Cassingle". Discogs.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  27. ^ "U.S. Girls - Me + Yoko 7"". notnotfun.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  28. ^ "U.S. Girls - Lunar Life 7"". Bandcamp.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Death Bomb Arc Digital Singles Club Year 1 Part 1". Bandcamp.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  30. ^ "U.S. Girls - The Boy Is Mine Track - notes". Bandcamp.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  31. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry. "Tracks: "The Island Song" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  32. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay. "Tracks: "Jack" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Slim Baby by U.S. Girls on Fatcat Records". fat-cat.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  34. ^ "U.S. Girls - Rosemary/Sed Knife". Discogs.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  35. ^ Berman, Stuart. "Tracks: "Damn that Valley" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  36. ^ "Tracks: "Woman's Work" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  37. ^ Pop Matters staff (2 September 2015). "U.S. GIRLS – "WINDOW SHADES" (VIDEO) (SINGLES GOING STEADY)". popmatters.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  38. ^ Lozano, Kevin. "Tracks: "Mad As Hell" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  39. ^ Geffen, Sasha. "Tracks: "Velvet 4 Sale" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  40. ^ Rettig, James (10 January 2018). "U.S. Girls - "Pearly Gates" Video". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  41. ^ Torres, Eric. "Tracks: "Rosebud" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  42. ^ Rettig, James (13 January 2020). "U.S. Girls - "Overtime"". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  43. ^ Rettig, James (10 February 2020). "U.S. Girls - "Four American Dollars"". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  44. ^ Hussey, Alison (30 November 2020). "U.S. Girls Share New Christmas Song "Santa Stay Home": Listen". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  45. ^ "Junkyard - single - U.S. Girls". music.apple.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  46. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael. "Tracks: "So Typically Now" - U.S. Girls". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  47. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (25 October 2022). "U.S. Girls - "Bless This Mess"". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  48. ^ Rettig, James. "U.S. Girls - "Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo)" - Feb 21, 2023". Stereogum.com. Retrieved 26 November 2023.

External links edit

  • U.S. Girls discography at Discogs