Girl Scout – Brink (AWAL) (13th Floor Album Review)

After releasing a trio of EPs, Swedish band Girl Scout have released their debut album, Brink. Amongst the polished hooks liberally crafted into each song, it’s the perfect mix of guitar, synths and attitude that I am sure these up-and-comers will be celebrated for over the next few months.

If you’ve not heard of Girl Scout (and yes, I was also one of those people until a few days ago), then expect something that sits somewhere in the Venn diagram that is indie-rock meets alt-pop music. Primarily guitar-based, but loaded with synths and plenty of chorus on the bass. I suppose if you’re wanting to make comparisons, my listens made me think of the first few albums by The Killers. The Naked and Famous may not be on their influences list, but it was easy for me to make parallels. The band have often been compared to the act, Snail Mail also. Oh, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are probably another one to put on your bingo card, at least the songs that got all the radio airplay. Have a listen to their latest single Crumbs and see if you agree.

Regardless, it’s catchy, well-written and produced music.

Even on my first listen, the aggressive drums that joined the synth loop on the aptly titled Song 1 stuck out to me. And unlike a good handful of alt-pop albums that I’ve reviewed as part of this gig, there is plenty of variety on this album to keep you hooked.

Frontwoman and creative-driving-force Emma Jansson is the star of the show here. While her voice could initially written-off as a high-pitched touch of sugar that coats the album in a somewhat enjoyable-but-soon-to-easily-be-ignored-by-the-halfway-mark, she had other ideas. We’re given an attitude-fuelled punk-rock explosive performance on Operator. Only to be given American popstar on Same Kids. In fact, her voice shows an extensive range throughout the thirteen-track LP. 

Don’t worry, the instrumentation is just as satisfying. We’re treated to quirky, fuzzy nineties guitars. Yep, I’d say there’s a Pavement influence in there too (which is not a problem for me at all!). While many of the synthesizers are fairly stock standard to what you’d normally hear on a release on this nature, I was impressed to hear theremin on The Kill (not to mention a really wild synth solo!). You can hear the garage-rock sensibilities amongst the high production. 

I’ll admit that I haven’t spent each listening scouring through the lyrics in the cover sheet like I might have twenty years ago (even harder when it’s an online pre-release, trust me!), I could pick up on some relatively clever lines. The delivery is what really made it for me. There’s an emotional edge to Girl Scout and I don’t think it’s that hard to find. Although ‘True Love is blind’ is perhaps not the most original lyric to take us out on, I still took away a lot from Homecoming.

Brink really delivers the full course of what Girl Scout are made of. And, hopefully, what they’re to give us more of in the future. Jansson leads the charge in a journey through an album that provides us with exciting alternative variety, while still grounded in indie-rock sensibilities (decorated with synths, naturally). 

Daniel Edmonds

Brink is out now via AWAL