| “Oh Boy!” features Girl and Girl’s distinctive garage rock sound, injected with circuitous riffs and Kai James’ wonderfully nervy vocals. The track is about the growth that can be experienced after emotional turmoil and the long, slow and arduous process of channelling pain into something healthy. It explores the realisation that there’s no end to such growth – that misery and heartbreak are just a recurring fact of life – and how relieving it can be to come to terms with that.
“I’d had Oh Boy! half written for a few years before we got round to recording it, I really loved the first half, and had kind of psyched myself out of finishing it. When it was finally demo’d early last year this big sort of chaotic, sprawling word vomit poured out of me that seemed to tie the whole thing up nicely. It’s brimming with joy and misery and sarcasm, all things Girl and Girl” singer-songwriter Kai James says of the song.
The single’s accompanying music video tells the story of a local community theatre manager who has found himself in the possession of a magical rainbow prop. When people stand underneath the rainbow, they are suddenly overcome with joy. So he opens the hall on off days to sell happiness to the public. The only issue? He can’t get it to work on himself.
“The clip for Oh Boy! was so much fun to shoot. We worked with our faves Tayla Lauren (director) and Joel Tronoff (director of photography + editing), who we love and have worked with on our last four video clips, and who most importantly understand how I work, that is I give them a detailed concept and we have five days to pull everything together.” says Kai. “The band had just returned from SXSW in Texas on a Monday and we needed the clip by the following Saturday, or something silly like that (whoops), but god did they help to pull it together! Vibes were really high on the shoot day with everyone singing along and shooting confetti at each other.”
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| Girl and Girl – Oh Boy! (Official Video) |
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| “Oh Boy!” builds on the momentum of the Call A Doctor’s initial singles, “Hello” and “Mother” which have garnered widespread praise from titles such as NME UK, Rolling Stone US, Happy Mag, Pilerats and more. “Hello” debuted at #1 on the ALT Specialty Singles Chart in the US and maintained the top position for a second week, while “Mother” has secured placements on some of Australia’s most credible new music playlists.
Girl and Girl recently wrapped up headline dates across the East Coast for the Hello Australia Tour, including sold-out shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast. They are now on the road in the US, supporting 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!
“Oh Boy!” by Girl and Girl out now.
Call A Doctor by Girl and Girl out Friday 24 May. Pre-order the album now.
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| CALL A DOCTOR TRACKLISTING:
1. INTRO
2. Call A Doctor
3. Hello
4. Maple Jean
5. Oh Boy!
6. Suffocate
7. Mother
8. You’ll Be Alright
9. Comfortable Friends
10. Our Love (Ours Only)
11. OUTRO
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 March this year. Still on a high from their recent Hello Australia Tour which included sold-out shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast, Girl and Girl are currently embarking on a mammoth 20-date run supporting Royel Otis in the US.
“Honestly, Girl and Girl are a phenomenal band, and they are just on a roll at the moment.” – Ash McGregor, triple j
“Emotional mayhem that’s relatable, and very catchy.” – Rolling Stone |
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