On Repeat: In Girl Clout By Fresh Rediscovering Emo Punk Feels Just As Good As Ever
Tristan Young @talltristan
The churning currents of cyclical trends in music, especially mapped over generational and macro scales, can inspire a certain weathered cynicism from time to time. The gnawing rumination that it’s all been done before, especially in the legacy genres like UK punk rock. However listening to London group Fresh manages to suggest a different, more optimistic understanding of this paradigm. Their new EP, The Summer I Got Good At Guitar, is aptly- if not exactly succinctly- titled and makes the case not so much on behalf of the listener hearing iterative versions of emo punk dating back to the 90s, but for the charismatic joy in the group itself discovering these tenets. The track Girl Clout is a rousing testament to the efficacy of this mindset. Splitting the difference between early Wavves and a lighter version of Sheer Mag, Fresh wears their influences on their sleeve for this one, but the iridescent energy and discovery- if not for us, then for them- is invigorating. The wild fervent swings and emphatic leaning into phrases, “you don’t even know me you just want to look good”, is jolting in its zealous mania. Vocalist Kathryn Woods displays a commitment to theatricality with every verse, not so much for the sake of melodrama or egotistical indulgence, but because she herself is getting something illuminating out of it. There is a fascinating juxtaposition about the line “I feel a constant lethargy/ the pressure to say yes”, being resoundingly proclaimed with such passionate inertia. It further enshrines the idea that this song doesn’t need to exist for anyone but her and the band. It makes it feel genuine and sincere, adding a layer of wholesome triumph as the guitars excitedly scurry up the scale with sonic fervour. The mixing of said guitars, the glassine sheen of piercing high pitch squeals cutting through just the right amount of distorted viscera, is terrific. Again, none of these are exactly new tricks or ideas, but on a performative level it’s new to them and that’s enough for them to be excited. That excitement is infectious, which in of itself is a much harder feat to pull off then any of the more prescriptive components in Girl Clout that gets them there; that’s the kind of thing that never gets old.