Horsegirl curate a breezy playlist for everyday life

Welcome back to Selections, a series of artist-curated playlists from those in the know.

“I think it’s sweet that our band is based on friendship because I don’t know a lot of adult bands that do that. This started as something fun that we just did, kind of carelessly. And because of that, I think something special gets captured in our music,” said Penelope Lowenstein, one-third of teen rock trio Horsegirl, in our July issue profile.

It’s an accurate notion. An unintentional and loose-limbed approach forged through friendship, shared taste and mutual trust does indeed form the foundations of Horsegirl, and underpins much of the band’s success. Their debut album Versions of Modern Performance – which was released in June via indie giant Matador – is further proof of the group’s winning formula.

Across 12 tracks, Lowenstein and bandmates Nora Cheng and Gigi Reece fuse homespun no wave, shoegaze and post-punk motifs with Gen Z sensibilities. A deep appreciation for time-honoured styles and those who came before can also be felt across the Horsegirl catalogue. It’s their shared music taste, if you recall, that brought them together in the first place.

For the Selections series, Horsegirl draw from this very melting pot as they curate a playlist for dancing, cooking, and walking through your neighbourhood. “A journey into the Horsegirl mind,” is how they would describe the breezy collection, which veers from Sun Ra’s mystifying jazz through to the soft sounds of April Magazine via Yuzo Iwata, Orange Juice and the Primitives.

“We’re always sharing music with each other,” state the group, “and we’re delighted to share some of our current favourites with you, too.”