Horsegirl Is the New Indie Band You Need to Know About

Horsegirl is quickly becoming one of the hottest up-and-coming indie bands.

The Chicago trio released its sophomore album, Phonetics On and On, on Valentine’s Day via NYC’s Matador Records, and toured Europe for the second time this summer. Now the young twentysomethings are on a U.S. run, which includes the act's Denver debut. The August 26 show at Bluebird Theater with Godcaster is also Horsegirl’s last performance before a four-show maiden voyage to Japan in September.

“I’m sure we’ll have end-of-tour goofiness in our bones at that point,” drummer Gigi Reece says from a greenroom in Santa Ana, California.

Reece, Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein — both of whom handle guitar, bass and vocals — are only a week into their current concert lineup, but the positive reception to the latest record is already evident. Building on the ’90s-inspired alt-rock of the 2022 debut album, Versions of Modern Performance, Horsegirl went more lo-fi on Phonetics, including incorporating “stripped-back and minimal” synth throughout.

“I think adding the synth into the palette of sounds that we pull from was really exciting in the process. We had written all the songs before we went into the studio, and once we got to the studio is when we said maybe we should add synth to this,” Reece recalls, adding that all three contributed synths parts.

“It was very strange because none of us played piano. It was figuring out what works with the rest of what we’ve already built with the song,” Reece continues. “I think that’s a big part of our band, discovering this with each other.”

“Julie,” featuring a droning synthesizer undertone, is a good example of that. Recorded at Wilco Studio, aka the Loft of fellow Chicago heroes, with producer Cate Le Bon, Phonetics explores coming-of-age themes, particularly Cheng and Lowenstein’s school days at New York University that caused the band to create between two cities.

“Writing it was a lot of us living our lives and then processing what we were doing through creating music together,” Reece says. “That process has always been what we were doing, but we were more cognizant of that being what we were doing the second time around, and realizing the importance of making songs together as a way that we live our lives.

Le Bon, the accomplished Welsh musician, helped Horsegirl explore that deeper.

“She really instilled confidence in us to go for it and feel loose or goofier with it and try everything,” Reece adds. “Having her around gave us more confidence to trust those instincts. If it’s just us three, we can get into a loop, like ‘Should I do this? Should I not do this? Is this the right decision? Is this not?’

“With Cate, we would say something and she’d be like, ‘That’s cool, let’s try it.’ There wasn’t the cycle of self-doubt. It helped with the intimacy of the songs and the session. I think we really gave ourselves over to the process in a way we didn’t know how to with our first record.”

Songs such as “Rock City,” “2468” and “Where’d You Go?” display the type of breezy, upbeat contemporary indie-pop that Horsegirl has become known for since coming together as teenagers after meeting through a local School of Rock program six years ago.

Before hitting the road, the friends found a Chicago apartment to share, something Reece is excited to settle into once back home. In the meantime, they're awestruck by their newfound international fame.

“None of us have ever been to Japan. We never played a show in Japan,” Reece says of the surprising support they've found in that country.

“Honestly, we had a lot of Japanese fans telling us they wanted us there,” Reece adds. “When our new record came out, we were getting all these photos from record stores in Japan of people really connecting with it and loving it. It was so touching to see the reaction to our new record. Seems like they love indie rock, so we’re happy to deliver.”

Other than spreading the music of Horsegirl, Reece is most excited to sample the local cuisine.

“I want to eat everything that’s put in front of me,” Reece says. “I know there will be nothing like the Chicago dog, but I’m sure I won’t eat any seafood that even compares to what we’re about to eat in Japan.”

After that, Horsegirl is looking forward to a much-needed breather. “Hopefully we’ll just chill out for a bit after touring all summer,” Reece concludes.

Horsegirl, with Godcaster, 7 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax. Tickets are $33.