Girl Tones channel angsty overdrive on “Again”

Girl Tones are sick of your shit. On their latest single, “Again,” sisters Kenzie and Laila lean into massive sounds, angry attitudes, and unapologetically grimy instrumentals. After being ushered into the scene by Cage the Elephant’s Brad Shultz (the duo are signed to his label, Parallel Vision, and opened for the band on their latest tour), they’re continuing on their rise with “Again,” the follow up to their debut “Fade Away” from August.

“Again” opens with the line “I’m so emotional / I don’t know how much more I can take of it,” presenting listeners with blown out vocals akin to a Gen Z-ified Karen O, and a head on attack on feminine rage. Kenzie’s vocals exude confidence and attitude, leaning into the “over it” tone of the entire song. Classically trained musicians (singer/guitarist Kenzie on cello, drummer Laila on piano), the pair creates all-consuming sounds that play with rhythmic patterns and time signatures to circle listeners into a never ending cycle.

From the outset, “Again” opens with full, echoey drums and a driving guitar pattern, similar to the harder rocking tracks on Nirvana’s In Utero, particularly “Scentless Apprentice.” The verses have a straight rhythm that turns swingy at the chorus, with the guitar and drums dragging out the first notes and cutting the second one’s short. Kenzie breaks into shout-singing on lines “I’m getting double vision trying to see the light,” bearing the brunt of the frustrations that come from asking for the same things and not getting them. There are hints of ‘80s metal throughout the track, with blistering synths coming through between the verses and choruses, and even lining up with lyrics “I think I heard a sound,” breaking the fourth wall of the song a bit and creating a self-referential moment of levity.

Girl Tones say “Again” is “desperate, a cry for help. Just like how the verses repeat, the rhythms and melodies have an obsessive repetition.” The back and forth between straight and swinging rhythm patterns turns the song into a cycle of jolts and releases, with crunchy guitars, heavy toms, and piercing vocals creating an overwhelming sound. The pair’s bare bones set up works in their favour, leaving room for the song to breathe and each individual element to shine through.