“Mother” pogoes on a spiky groove, opening with jangly guitar and driven by catchy as hell drums behind singer-songwriter Kai James’ instantly recognisable vocals and signature vibrato, the track pays tribute to the evolution of James’ relationship with his mum.

“I wrote Mother about my beautiful mum, and how our relationship has matured and evolved from my late teens to my mid-twenties. Shifting from this all-knowing being, into something a bit more human. There’s beauty in that shift, relief at the fact that no one’s perfect, but then fear and doubt too, as you step out and slowly learn to trust and back yourself” said James.

The single’s accompanying music video was created in collaboration with internationally acclaimed puppet company, Snuff Puppets, and follows a giant mother and her baby as they are unleashed into the world.

Girl and Girl – Mother (Official Video)
“Mother” follows “Hello”, which debuted at #1 on the ALT Specialty Singles Chart in the US where it maintained the top spot for a second week. The single saw Girl and Girl be included in NME UK’s 10 essential new acts to catch at SXSW in Austin where their showcases saw them featured in Rolling Stone US’ Best of SXSW Day Two: “Every member of Girl and Girl is too young to have experienced the garage rock revivalism of Y2K firsthand, save Aunty Liss, the drummer who supports her nervy nephews in this band of Australian post-punk traditionalists. Fronted by the wiry Kai James — handsome and jittery, never reclusive — the group treated sacred post-punk texts as if they were a common language when they played the 13th Floor, giving their barbed hooks and sideways riffs real kick. They’re carrying a torch without succumbing to nostalgia or formalism, all because they’re intoxicated by the noise they make.”

Girl and Girl will perform headline dates throughout April, hitting venues across the East Coast for the Hello Australia Tour, before returning to the US to support Royel Otis on a mammoth 20-date run.

Girl and Girl’s forthcoming record, Call A Doctor is an unforgettable first bow. The audacious and aggressively tuneful blast of an album was recorded during a frenzied two-week creative process at Sundowner Sound in Melbourne, a two-story industrial complex where the band ate, slept and made music in marathon sessions with producer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett, Julia Jacklin, DZ Deathrays, The Drones). It is a record that is so out-and-out alive that you almost feel like you’re in the room with Girl and Girl as you listen to it.

Call A Doctor’s eleven songs—spanning sweeping guitar epics and wry acoustic shuffles to spiky punk manoeuvres and the type of raw, adoringly unvarnished indie-pop associated with legendary label K Records—are literally plucked from James’ personal history, reflecting on past struggles as well as new anxieties that emerged prior to the album’s recording. Call A Doctor lays a lifetime’s worth of woes (such as mental health and the human race’s planned obsolescence) across a canvas of indie rock that feels both timeless and in-the-moment. Though, even as it deals with uneasy topics, the music is still teeming with life. There’s a brazen, bold sense of humour and an undeniable brightness to the darkness that makes it impossible not to be drawn in as a listener.

Feeling bad never sounded so good!

Call A Doctor will be released Friday 24 May via Virgin Music Australia (AU/NZ) and Sub Pop (ROW). Pre-order the album now.

“Mother” by Girl and Girl out now.
Call A Doctor by Girl and Girl out Friday 24 May 2024.

ABOUT GIRL AND GIRL
Girl and Girl’s origins lie in Kai James and guitarist Jayden Williams jamming in his mother’s garage after school. One such afternoon, James’ Aunty Liss headed down to their practice space after walking her dog and asked if she could sit in on drums. “It sounded really great,” James recalls. “We begged her to stay, and she said, ‘I’ll stay until you find another drummer.’ We wore her down, and she eventually became a permanent member.”

After bassist Fraser Bell joined to round things out, Girl and Girl hit the road and began to make a name for themselves beyond the Australian bush, eventually signing to Sub Pop off the strength of word of mouth.

Girl and Girl won the inaugural Gold Coast Music Prize in 2022. They’ve toured Europe including performances at The Great Escape and London’s Wide Awake Festival. In 2023 they showcased at SXSW Sydney and followed it up with performances at SXSW Austin in 2024. Girl and Girl will perform headline dates throughout April, hitting venues across the East Coast for the Hello Australia Tour, before returning to the US to support Royel Otis on a mammoth 20-date run.

Girl and Girl’s debut album Call A Doctor is set for release on Friday 24 May 2024 via Virgin Music Australia (AU/NZ) and Sub Pop (ROW).

GIRL AND GIRL HELLO AUSTRALIA TOUR DATES
Thursday 4 April 2024 – Mo’s Desert Clubhouse, Gold Coast QLD
Friday 5 April 2024 – Sol Bar, Sunshine Coast QLD
Saturday 6 April 2024 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD
Friday 12 April 2024 – The Tote, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 13 April 2024 – Lansdowne, Sydney NSW
Sunday 14 April 2024 – La La Las, Wollongong NSW

Tickets available through subpop.com