Besides playing some raucous live shows and festival dates, Hotgirl has been hunkered in the studio recently, escaping the confines of lead vocalist Ashley Abbedeen's previously DIY bedroom project. They have established themselves as a quartet, catching a well-deserved buzz on the Dublin music scene.
With the band gearing up to release their forthcoming EP out early next year, they drop lead single "In Your Head" and showcase the melodic and explosive sonic eccentricities that set the band apart from their peers. Abbedeen's laconic vocal is joined by the angular lead guitar lines of Sophie Boxwell, the booming breakbeats of Nick Stanley, and the low-end thump of Jake Hurley.
The foursome's quirky style of alternative rock switches from sweetly sung to manically chaotic, constantly shifting as Abbedeen tells the tale of writing a song about a former partner, but only later, with hindsight, once she's been able to figure out exactly what the love was. It's also about gaining perspective, co-dependent love, and feeling gratitude for the relationship despite it needing to end.
"In Your Head" points to a much fuller and more buoyant sound after last year's much more stripped-back "Sick Sad World" EP and collected singles. They're now a brasher, more expansive group of musicians taking creative chances and standing out from the crowd in an already burgeoning scene.
