U.S. Girls

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

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]

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.
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