Chorusgirl’s second album Shimmer And Spin, is a record that emerged from the darkness of insecurity to become an anchor in the gloom. The record was written at a time when, at almost every turn, things seemed to get worse for the band; from family illness, through anxiety and the end of their previous record label, somehow Chorusgirl managed to scramble and create a record that not only managed to exist, but to thrive and push their music into new and fascinating directions.
As opening lines go, “there’s always someone else who looks more popular or clever it’s true, more confident than anyone, but certainly not better than you”, is an undeniably intriguing place to begin, and that’s where Chorusgirl began on the sublime, In Dreams. Much of Shimmer And Spin continues in a similar vein, laced with self-doubt and insecurity, yet fighting against them, battling to believe in yourself, to believe your dreams are worthy of pursuit. It’s not a battle always won, sometimes life overwhelms; there’s moments of resignation, as on Stuck, when Silvi sings, “the future, turned past now, well it was never ours”, and moments where self-doubt takes control, as they sing on Not Yours, “my brain keeps broadcasting clips of doom, my introversion is strong”. If lyrically it was a record of personal reflection, musically it was a bold step into new musical territory, the glistening guitars more sharp and shimmering, the rhythm section more solid and creative, the newly discovered vocal harmonies, a subtly perfect. There’s one particular moment on Shimmer And Spin, we find we just keep coming back to, a brief perfect collection of just a few seconds, it comes just short of three minutes into Stuck, as Silvi sings, “stuck in my mind, stuck for all time”, and for just maybe 20 seconds all sense of control is lost; the guitars become an overwhelming rush of feedback, the drums a clattering chaos, and beneath it all, the perfect bass-line pins it together, carrying on as if nothing had even changed, then as quickly as it arrived it is all gone. You almost have to rewind to check it actually happened, yet it did and it has the same effect listen after listen after listen. Shimmer And Spin is a record that emerged from the darkest of places to glisten and sheen, a triumphant celebration of just about getting through, a record even better than we ever thought it could be.
Released November 16th, 2018
Demon Baby and Love is Like written by Faith Taylor
Other songs written by Silvia Wersing
The Fat Angel Sings 