Issue 97 / March 2019

PREVIEWS
MEMBERS
PICK
GIG
OUR GIRL
Phase One – 04/03
Brit Williams chats to the lead vocalist of the
refreshingly fuzzy Brighton trio ahead of a muchanticipated
Liverpool headline show.
Melodies reminiscent of an era long gone, colliding the emotion of 90s shoegaze with
dreamy reverberation, OUR GIRL continue to enthuse listeners countrywide, note by
note. After several years of touring and a series of releases through their manager’s
independent record label Cannibal Hymns, the band’s move from Brighton to
London has not only elevated them to the top of the bill at shows, but has secured them a
dreamy album produced by cult hero Bill Ryder-Jones.
It’s hard to ignore the effort and raw talent of a group who openly
talk about how much they cry. Through the streak of emotivism
caught up in the band’s instrumentation, Our Girl have been able to
instill a sense of authenticity into their craft. They are a band who
know no boundaries in expression; within that, we see their humble
honesty to be especially pure.
Tousled between a string of headline shows around the country
sits an intimate Liverpool gig on 4th March. Ahead of the gig, Brit
Williams chats to lead singer Soph Nathan about Stranger Today,
working with Bill, and just how much vulnerability played a key role in
the construction of their first album.
“We learnt how to
make your guitar sound
amazing with a shitload
of distortion, reverb and
a screwdriver”
Hi Soph! Your highly anticipated debut album Stranger Today was
released in August of last year. Looking back at this feat, how do
you feel that you’ve matured as a band since you first met several
years ago in Brighton?
Hello! It’s hard to tell, really. The album seems like a big step for us. Having a record that we’re
proud of, that finally sounds the way we always hoped it would, is a big achievement in our eyes. I
also feel like our confidence has grown a lot in terms of live shows. I didn’t use to be able to eat for
hours before we played because I’d feel so sick. I get nervous still, of course, but now there’s a much
higher ratio of pure excitement in there.
Stranger Today is such a beautifully composed, yet emotionally driven album, notably in a song
like Josephine. Is it important for you to conceptualise this sense of raw feeling in your music?
Ah, thanks very much. We definitely try to mirror the emotion of the lyrics through the music
as much as possible. Writing songs can be really cathartic for me, especially when I’m feeling
something strongly and don’t know what else to do with the feeling. It’s a really good release, and
we always try our best to match whatever the feelings are sonically and with dynamics.
Is it difficult, perhaps straining, to project feelings of melancholia in such a stirring and uplifting
way, as demonstrated on the record?
It is sometimes. I noticed that especially when the album came out, it’s like I suddenly realised that
the songs weren’t just ours anymore. Obviously, it was inevitable and it’s a really exciting prospect!
But it hadn’t quite sunk in that people were actually going to listen to the songs and to my lyrics
up close and personal in their headphones. And the thought of that does make me feel kind of
vulnerable and squeamish sometimes.
How did the opportunity come about to record with Bill Ryder-Jones?
It was our manager Tim’s idea, actually. As soon as we heard what Bill had done we were on board,
and Tim managed to get hold of him and luckily Bill liked us too!
Can you tell us how the experience of recording with Bill has helped to shape you musically?
Was there any advice he gave you that helped you during this process?
Recording was quite an intense process, just because we only had 12 days to do it, and it was so
incredibly important to us to get it right. About halfway through the
recording process I started freaking out about whether we had enough
time and Bill gave me a good pep talk which basically consisted of, “Calm
down, it’s all going to be fine, we’ll have enough time and if we don’t it’s
not the end of the world.” It sounds simple, and I probably could have
told myself that, but in that moment I couldn’t. He taught us other stuff,
too, mainly about guitar sounds, learning how to make your guitar sound
amazing with a shitload of distortion, reverb and a screwdriver.
Now that the album is out and you have a string of shows ahead
including two different dates in Liverpool, what can we look forward
to from Our Girl in the future?
Festivals! And we’re starting to write new songs, so that’s exciting… !
Words: Brit Williams / @therealbritjean
Photography: Charlotte Patmore / charlottepatmore.com
weareourgirl.co.uk
Stranger Today is available now via Cannibal Hymns. Our Girl play Phase One on Monday 4th
March, and Liverpool Sound City 3-5th May.
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