High-energy rock duo Girl Tones announce their debut album Precious, due for release on November 6, with the arrival of blistering new single ‘Pretty Face’. Produced by Cage The Elephant’s Brad Shultz, the track takes aim at the masks people wear in order to fit in, pairing its refusal to conform with a sound that makes Girl Tones’ intentions equally clear: they are absolutely not here to play.
Everything hits from the opening moments. Kenzie’s guitar and brilliantly snotty vocal immediately lock in with Laila’s pounding drums, creating a sound far bigger than you’d expect from just two people. The verses sit firmly in straight-up rock territory before a building bridge winds the tension tighter, but it’s the chorus that really bulldozes you into submission. Guitars disappear beneath layers of glorious distortion, Kenzie’s vocal gains even more bite and the whole thing erupts into heavy, grungy goodness. It’s loud, unapologetic and ridiculously satisfying, with production that amplifies the duo’s raw power without polishing away any of their attitude.
That attitude spills straight into the accompanying video, filmed inside the wonderfully weird setting of a wig shop and switching between crisp modern footage and a grainy 90s VHS aesthetic. There’s a clever connection to the song’s exploration of appearance and the identities people construct to gain acceptance, but it’s also simply a brilliantly playful visual world for the duo to inhabit. “It’s heavy, and it puts a stamp on things,” says Kenzie. “Listen, we’re not here to play.” After a chorus like this, nobody is likely to doubt her.
