Infinity Girl Return With Very Different Sound

When Brooklyn-based four piece, Infinity Girl, released their debut album ‘Stop Being On My Side’ in 2012, followed by EP ‘Just Lovers later that year, they emerged as a mellow wall of sound drenched band of the shoegaze caliber. Yet, as an aggressive guitar screeches into earshot in the opening moments of their second record, Infinity Girl take on quite a different sound.

Harm, released 28^th August via Topshelf Records, sways more towards a livelier vibe, whilst retaining the hazy essence that defined their previous material. As the band place emphasis on a sophisticated melodic atmosphere, combining warm dreamy moments with snatches of highly charged darker fuzz, Infinity Girl have moved on from where they started and come out on top.

The first few seconds of ‘Hesse’ captures an ethereal charm before the aforementioned guitar screeches in to take centre ground. Though ‘Harm’ is full of moments of dreamy chimes, the sheer dynamism of the opening feels like an abrasive confirmation that Infinity Girl have moved away from their former style. It’s a track that is delivered with a thirst for capturing brilliant sound and sets the album up for wonderful things.

As ‘Hesse’ concludes, the melodic transition into ‘Firehead’ is a nice touch; it’s demonstrative of the careful attention to detail Infinity Girl put in throughout. ‘Firehead’ takes on a lulled approach - insofar as much as the band can - with a thrashier element builds up towards the end of the song.

The distortion in ‘Locklaun’ gives it a darker, sleazier quality, before Infinity Girl reemerge from the shadows with slow-paced zestiness in ‘Hold’. ‘Not Man’ is laden with indie pop sentiment, though the band’s efforts to seize hold of moments of crisp sound does not go unwelcomed. It’s a track that perfectly complements ‘Liner’, which is, in some ways, its antithesis, with its layers of venomous fuzzy feedback. Yet, still, beneath, and within, these darker layers are elements of the dreamy sound that dominates ‘Not Man’.

‘Heavy’, a fitting title, slides between static optimistic sound with sheer noise. Whilst ‘Dirty Sun’ is a solid track, its climax comes in the first 15 seconds, with an ear-splitting squeal that the rest of the song doesn’t manage to make up to.

‘Young’ opens on the same poppier foot as ‘Not Man’. It’s a really catchy song that leads into the razor sharp riffs that dominate ‘Musei’, which is chaotic and charming; the neat convergence of noise and distortion makes it a definite highlight of the album.

‘Around Me’ rounds off Harm on a slower note, with tantalizing noises that sum up Infinity Girl’s latest record well’ there’s a lot to sink your teeth into, and it’s extremely satisfying to do.

To find out more about Infinity Girl click here.

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Words by Ellie Brown

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