Seriously, Versions of Modern Performance sounds as though it could’ve been released in the ’80s or ’90s, but it’s the 2022 debut LP by Chicago’s Horsegirl. Maybe it has something to do with album producer John Agnello, who’s also worked with The Breeders, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. Or, could it be that Nora Cheng, Gigi Reece and Penelope Lowenstein are old souls? Nah, leave that Gen X-thinking at the door. There’s something compelling here that transcends revivalism, an aesthetic spanning a range beyond the years of this band, from the darker, discordant instrumentation to their brilliantly cryptic, tongue-in-cheek lyrical originality.
Horsegirl’s tour brings them to Austin for a show tonight, Monday Aug. 7, at the Parish. Doors at 7:30 p.m., and fellow Chicagoans Lifeguard open the show.
