So the free box at MRR only had this green pamphlet from Terminal Girls, and it looked like it was probably a cool band, so I took it. Later, when I sent out emails to all the bands and labels that put out stuff I got in the free box, keyboardist/vocalist Ian Swanson was really nice and sent me some MP3s from Terminal Girls’ upcoming release, so I’ll be reviewing those, and not Invisible Ills. I know it’s sort of confusing.
Terminal Girls is one of those bands that I could see whole slews of hipsters either loathing or loving, depending on which option they thought would give them more scene points. I for one really detest liking or disliking music because it’s the cool thing to be doing. I guess that doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but I wanted to mention it.
Terminal Girls plays sassy, in-your-face electropop that takes a pretty simple, driving musical structure, and does it hard, fast, and furiously enough to make it genuinely engaging. They don’t own the cornerstone on that musical method, but they do a bang-up job of it. This music has a very ‘cool’ feeling to it (see hipster paragraph above), but there’s also a hint of a sincerity to it. The lyrical themes suggest there’s some deep-seated things the singer (Ian Swanson, remember?) wants to get off his chest. Ultimately, I think this would be an interesting band to see play live a lot. I think going to one show of theirs wouldn’t be a very astounding thing, but they seem like the kind of band that, once you’re somewhat familiar with the songs they play, would make a lot of subtle and awesome changes that made each live show different and interesting. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. That’s a lot to assume about a band based on two MP3s.
terminal girls – future eraser
terminal girls – telepathy burns