Cursing the Sea

This Dublin–based, all-female indie quintet follow in the tradition of classic pop and rock. Elements of ‘60s girl group pop meet a ‘70s punk directness, an ‘80s sense of Jesus & Mary Chain buzzsaw distortion and reverb, and the '90s lightness of twee pop. Comparisons to Raveonettes, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and other modern shoegaze-to-garage groups complete the picture. The Farfisa-to-Vox keyboards often drive September Girls' songs, giving “Green Eyed” and “Ships” a sense of elevation, but it’s the full band effort that makes them special. Naturally, there’s a derivative sense to much of the music, but songs such as “Left Behind,” Heartbeats,” “Talking," and “Daylight” retain enough freshness and energy to make them worthy steps forward for a group that clearly love classic sounds and a modern sense of mystery. If one gets past the walls of sound and reverb, there are vivid tales to unravel. That they’ve released so many songs along the way on cassettes and singles just further proves they understand what made pop music so exciting once upon a time—and still can.