The Early Years - EP

Dublin-based all-male foursome Girl Band have been making noise since 2011, releasing several handmade limited-edition singles and EPs on the Any Other City label. Rough Trade signed the group in 2015, and the group's first widely available release was the Early Years EP, which contained tracks from the band's singles from 2014, as well as their attention-grabbing 2013 cover of Blawan's horror-techno anthem "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?" Even more perverse than the cover's mere existence is the fact that Girl Band's rendition is a full two minutes longer than the six-minute original. Blawan's track looped the titular phrase (sampled from the Fugees' "How Many Mics") over ghastly howls and pounding beats, and Girl Band singer Dara Kiely repeats the sinister phrase ad nauseum, building it up to fierce shrieking covered with sheets of harsh guitar. "Lawman," also included on this EP, is similarly grounded by a steady, minimal 4/4 beat. Despite the group's affinity for dance music (they also had previously covered the Chemical Brothers' "Hanna's Theme"), they remarkably manage to sound less like dance-punk and more like Nirvana, with their slurred, snarling vocals and cathartic guitar feedback taking precedence over the occasionally danceable rhythms. The EP also features a cover of "I Love You" by Beat Happening (one of Nirvana's key influences), which is far more anxious and politically paranoid than would be expected from a song titled "I Love You" by a band regarded as twee pop progenitors. The EP is a startling introduction to a group unafraid to bring raging paranoia to the dancefloor.