words: Jamie Milton
image: christian oldham

California Bay gives way to experimentalism like you’ve never heard it before. Religious Girls’ ‘ESL’ begins by sounding akin to the Stars Of The Lid-meets-Justin Bieber remake that made ‘U Smile’ sound like a conceptual post-rock piece. What emerges after the elongation and soft, melting oohs and aahs however reveals Religious Girls to be far more indebted to Battles; raw percussion and provocative synth lines ahoy. This is progression but with such guts that you immediately have to recite what just went before you. Remember ‘Mirrored’ making you feel that way?

For a song to start so delicately only to move onto these contrasting, harsh surroundings is a trick that’s been played many a time before. But there’s a unique movement within Religious Girls’ songs; they travel through every emotion, every season, all within six awe-inspiring minutes.