Girlpool - Before The World Was Big

Girlpool
Before The World Was Big
2015
Girlpool - Before The World Was Big

This is the type of music that critics love. Stripped down Indie rock, very few notes, singing that really is not that great. It is almost like a poem set to music more than catchy rock. The more scratchy the recording the better. The truth of the matter though is as a whole this record is not all that great. There is female empowerment and reflection throughout which is perfectly fine, but when one song "Cherry Picking" consists of little more than two notes on a cheap guitar how long do we have to pretend it's incredible? There is a great deal of honesty on the album with the two ladies using friends' real names and even referencing each other as they sing in unison but the themes are so mundane  that listening to it after awhile just becomes a chore. At 10 songs the album is only 24 minutes long each song only taking about 2 minutes. The shortness also adds to the disposable feeling you get from this record, reading the lyrics you know something deep may be there but connecting with it on the page and musically are two very different things.

This album probably comes down to one of those existential crisis, what is music? Is it supposed to be deep and profound, shed a light on the human condition or just be catchy? The answer really is all of the above, it can be and should be anything. Before The World Was Big in no way is not music it simply is not music that strikes that certain cord, perhaps because they use so few, with people. There are a few moments like on the final track "I Like That You Can See It" where you do get a bit transfixed and can loose yourself in their tone, but those are so fleeting that giving this album a ringing endorsement would just be silly. Many of the critics out there will tell you this is one not to miss, they are lying, go listen to Colleen Green instead.

4.5 out of 10