Rising LA band Girl Friday recently announced their debut album Androgynous Mary for release on August 21 through Hardly Art. Today they’ve shared the album’s opening track “This Is Not The Indie Rock I Signed Up For”. They say:
“The song was born out of a years and years long mental crisis in which daily life felt like being twisted around in an endless carousel spinning at 100mph. In the moments of wicked darkness and what felt like hell, real love and community was presented to us on a plate — ready to be eaten. We are extremely grateful to have received that. Sometimes, you are too stuck to see what’s in front of you. Sometimes, you don’t understand it. And sometimes, when you do take hold of it, it’s the biggest and most powerful feeling in the world. To feel held. To feel like even if you fall to the ground, someone will be there to wipe your face, to sew up the holes in your pants, to pick you up again.
“Now, community is the most important thing we have. We have to stand up for our neighbors, invest in them, step outside of ourselves, listen to other people’s pain, and figure out the best way we can be an accurate picture of what love means. And Do Not Forget, we need total police + prison abolition.”
While last single “Amber’s Knees” was an energetic blast, “This Is Not The Indie Rock” takes a more circumspect approach, as if Girl Friday are tentative about asking for the love and comfort they need. But, as “This Is Not The Indie Rock” continues, we hear the band grow in both heart and voice, until it reaches a delightfully grinding climax, where they finally accept the emotional gifts that are being offered to them.
You can stream the new song on any platform, or watch the quarantine video below.
Girl Friday’s debut album Androgynous Mary comes out through Hardly Art on August 21. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp.
