Garage-rock four-piece Girl and Girl have released their anticipated debut record Call A Doctor.
The album’s title track, ‘Call A Doctor’ sets the scene for the record, introducing listeners to their young hero and his inner doctor. It is sarcastic and dramatic, yet sincere at the same time. “The track itself is pretty literal. It speaks a lot to the pressures I was feeling at the time of writing it, after the band had gained some attention, and how I was struggling to keep up and deal with that alongside some other going ons in my personal life. The word vomit that is the outro of the song, kind of all just poured out of me one afternoon, it was really cathartic and continues to be each time we play it.” explains singer-songwriter Kai James.
The song’s accompanying video clip includes the album intro. The opening monologue, which James says is inspired by George Clooney’s Fantastic Mr Fox, speaks of a boy who is only half invested in most aspects of his life to avoid having to take total responsibility. “The actual recording of the record was a significant moment for me in my life. It was just two weeks of eleven-hour days, with absolute focus. It was a kind of commitment I didn’t really think I was capable of. The spoken word intro speaks to this. It’s about a boy who is only half invested in most aspects of his life in an effort to avoid having to take total responsibility. Half committing to avoid being held fully accountable is absolutely someone I’ve been in the past, so while it’s totally terrifying, I’m very happy to say I fully committed to this record, and you can hold me completely accountable.” exclaims James.
Call A Doctor lays a lifetime’s worth of woes (such as mental health and the human race’s planned obsolescence) across a canvas of indie rock that feels both timeless and in the moment. The album’s eleven songs — spanning sweeping guitar epics and wry acoustic shuffles to spiky punk manoeuvres and the type of raw, adoringly unvarnished indie-pop associated with legendary Pacific NW label K Records — are literally plucked from James’ personal history, as he reworked older recordings with newer lyrics reflecting his past struggles as well as new anxieties that emerged prior to the album’s recording.
“I had this idea of a theatrical concept album for quite some time.” he says. “I grew up going to theatre shows and studying ballet, so kind of had a love for theatrics instilled in me at an early age. It made sense to centre the record around mental health for a few reasons, firstly because it’s been such a prevalent issue for me in my life, but also because it’s a topic I would’ve struggled approaching in a sincere way. For me to speak so openly and honestly about all this I kind of needed it to be dramatic and silly and theatrical and over the top, I guess in the same vein as ‘if you don’t laugh you cry’. I needed to trick myself into deep diving into a lot of these confronting thoughts and feelings. I like the idea of it playing out like that from an audiences perspective too, you don’t realise what’s happening till two or three listens in, and by then its already too late, you’re self-reflecting and growing as a person – haha sucker!”
Even as Call A Doctor deals with such uneasy topics, the music is still teeming with life. There’s a brazen, bold sense of humour and an undeniable brightness to the darkness that makes it impossible not to be drawn in as a listener.
Release: May 24th, 2024, Virgin Music Australia / Sub Pop