Concert Review: U.S. Girls Shows Love Is A Psychedelic Trip At Bowery Ballroom

U.S. Girls’ Meg Remy is a brave soul. Not every person can stand before a crowd with no music or band behind them; just their voice and a message. For Remy, the message is we have lost our minds as a society and as individuals, but whether we go to find them again or how we find them is where our story begins. It is more interesting to see a person regain their sanity than lose it, which goes the same for society. With red lighting and blue pajamas, she began her set alone and ended it with all of us behind her.

It was strange to see Remy begin her set so bare and even “silently”. As she sang acapella, the crowd quieted; a little shook that their “night-out” began so calmly in art. Remy appeared like she was making a declaration for her human rights to an ex-lover, of which, when she pressed play to her psychedelic logic-board, we all transported to the episodes in her life that made her stand up for herself or cave to the person before her. Remy has a voice made for 1960’s dark-pop. She embodies the “kiss with a fist” notion of sugary sounds and vocals that are soured by bitter emotions and lyrics. “Window Shades”, “Navy & Cream”, and “Damn That Valley” were like bad trips down lover’s lane with phone call recordings, repeated phrases, and mind warping instrumentals that showed love can be shattering when you are seen only as the one to give it, but not equal in worth to receive it. There are moments in life, from situations to relations, where it seems like the world asks everything of you without ever asking or thinking you deserve something good in return. Hence, U.S. Girls performs like she is having a mutual breakdown and breakthrough, which are often tied together.

I have already mentioned that U.S. Girls has a piercingly retro-pop style and voice, but it is her presence that impresses. She treats the stage as if it is her room, and her audience is looking at her private life from a glass, museum window. She is like an art display of humanity/ womanhood, in which she walks around the stage/ room moving emotional furniture to clear her mental space. The result is a performance that is intimate in feel, but universal in relation; we are all trying our best to keep ourselves together and U.S. Girls’ psych-pop is the music to such a feat. For More Information On U.S. Girls Click Here.