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Forgiveness
Forgiveness in Bloomington, MN
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Size: CD
As
Girlpool
, the ever-shifting duo of
Harmony Tividad
and
Avery Tucker
began as a drummer-less, '90s lo-fi-inspired project by teenaged friends noted for their tight tandem vocals. They soon added more instruments, adopting a more conventional indie rock sound for their second album, then folded in synths, electronics, and more, including orchestral timbres, for a third long-player that found them working and singing separately more often than together, representing yet another modification to their sound. (
Tucker
also began hormone replacement treatments between albums, which lowered his voice.)
's fourth album,
Forgiveness
, finds them altering their sound yet again on a set of songs in which generally sparer arrangements of synthesizers, piano, and programmed drums outnumber those with either the lusher flair of their previous album or any remaining alt-rock inspirations. Throughout all of these changes,
have remained distinctly emotive, and -- now in their mid-twenties --
speaks candidly about relationship grief, sex, disappointment, and delusion. First track "Nothing Gives Me Pleasure" begins with a series of rhythm blasts of electronic noise, which continue on over gentle, chord progression-marking keyboards as a doleful, pitch-corrected
Tividad
enters with "Do you even want me if I even have to ask?" The track adds a rhythm section, additional off-kilter sounds, and strings as it heads towards a finale that has the singer repeating, "Nothing gives me pleasure like the things I know you won't say." That song's plaintive, resigned tone dominates the album, including such track as the
-led "Lie Love Lullaby" ("My girl gives the world to you/She'll do just what you ask her to"), the guitar-assisted, indie pop duo entry "Dragging My Life into a Dream," and the gothic synth pop-injected "Afterlife" ("I know the devil sleeps/Cuz he sleeps with me"). The woozy and theatrical "Light Up Later," featuring
Zsela
, may qualify as an outlier, if a still-melancholy one about setting unrealistic expectations. Likewise, "Country Star," also led by
, borders on dark post-punk. Elsewhere,
's lilting, delicate leads on "Junkie" and the borderline power ballad "Butterfly Bulletholes" are among a handful of the album's most tuneful. When
closes with a proper duet, "Love333," its wistful, dramatic electric piano and strings play like an end-credits sequence to a late-night showing of a romantic tragedy. ~ Marcy Donelson
Girlpool
, the ever-shifting duo of
Harmony Tividad
and
Avery Tucker
began as a drummer-less, '90s lo-fi-inspired project by teenaged friends noted for their tight tandem vocals. They soon added more instruments, adopting a more conventional indie rock sound for their second album, then folded in synths, electronics, and more, including orchestral timbres, for a third long-player that found them working and singing separately more often than together, representing yet another modification to their sound. (
Tucker
also began hormone replacement treatments between albums, which lowered his voice.)
's fourth album,
Forgiveness
, finds them altering their sound yet again on a set of songs in which generally sparer arrangements of synthesizers, piano, and programmed drums outnumber those with either the lusher flair of their previous album or any remaining alt-rock inspirations. Throughout all of these changes,
have remained distinctly emotive, and -- now in their mid-twenties --
speaks candidly about relationship grief, sex, disappointment, and delusion. First track "Nothing Gives Me Pleasure" begins with a series of rhythm blasts of electronic noise, which continue on over gentle, chord progression-marking keyboards as a doleful, pitch-corrected
Tividad
enters with "Do you even want me if I even have to ask?" The track adds a rhythm section, additional off-kilter sounds, and strings as it heads towards a finale that has the singer repeating, "Nothing gives me pleasure like the things I know you won't say." That song's plaintive, resigned tone dominates the album, including such track as the
-led "Lie Love Lullaby" ("My girl gives the world to you/She'll do just what you ask her to"), the guitar-assisted, indie pop duo entry "Dragging My Life into a Dream," and the gothic synth pop-injected "Afterlife" ("I know the devil sleeps/Cuz he sleeps with me"). The woozy and theatrical "Light Up Later," featuring
Zsela
, may qualify as an outlier, if a still-melancholy one about setting unrealistic expectations. Likewise, "Country Star," also led by
, borders on dark post-punk. Elsewhere,
's lilting, delicate leads on "Junkie" and the borderline power ballad "Butterfly Bulletholes" are among a handful of the album's most tuneful. When
closes with a proper duet, "Love333," its wistful, dramatic electric piano and strings play like an end-credits sequence to a late-night showing of a romantic tragedy. ~ Marcy Donelson
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