Horsegirl

Horsegirl emerged from the Chicago DIY scene as teenagers, releasing their debut Versions of Modern Performance on Matador Records in 2022. The trio of Penelope Lowenstein, Nora Cheng, and Gigi Reece construct songs from interlocking guitar lines, shared vocals, and a deliberate rhythmic tension that draws equally from Wire, Sonic Youth, and the city's rich history of experimental rock. Lowenstein and Cheng trade between Fender Jazzmasters and Mustangs, favoring clean tones pushed into controlled feedback rather than conventional distortion. Their approach strips post-punk to its structural essentials — repetition, negative space, and the interplay between two guitars that complement rather than duplicate each other. The band's lo-fi amp tones and preference for oblique song structures give their recordings an art-school rigor that belies their young age. Their live performances emphasize precision and restraint, building tension through what is withheld as much as what is played.