This Tuesday, you better get to the church gig on time.
Philly post-punk group Church Girls roll up to The Lilypad in Inman (August 7) with Boston-based bands Jacksonville Kid and Stains of a Sunflower, but don’t anticipate any preaching — after spending plenty of time in private school, the only thing that’s holy to this foursome is the profound sanctuary of music.
“I went to an Episcopalian school for a few years and was an acolyte growing up,” singer Mariel Beaumont tells Vanyaland. “It’s not something I particularly resented or was against, but I became obsessed with going to punk shows around age 15 and live music became the new church for me and my friends. I think music has a transcendent quality, and historically has provided a communal experience for people to come together and feel connected, so in a way, it’s like church.”
Church Girls just released their emotionally tumultuous tune “Black Seas,” the first single off their forthcoming EP Home, due out September 7 via Chatterbot Records.
“[It’s] about wanting to help someone you care about while uncertain about the boundaries,” Beaumont explains. “Does this person want my help? Are my motivations purely benevolent? Am I even in a position to offer help, given my own problems?”
The other four new tracks, all recorded with Scott Solter, officially drop next month, a quick followup to last year’s especially dreamy LP Hidalgo.
“We recorded Home with Scott Solter (Spoon, Superchunk) in North Carolina during one week in March,” she adds. “I think we were all anxious to get back in the studio, so instead of waiting for a full-length [record], we recorded the five new songs we had. There’s also something a little more fun and freeing with an EP as opposed to a full-length. The vision is tight and the turnaround is quicker…It keeps us all psyched when we have a lot to work on and consistent new music to release.”
Dip into the introductory gospel of Church Girls below.
CHURCH GIRLS + JACKSONVILLE KID + STAINS OF A SUNFLOWER :: Tuesday, August 7 at The Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St. in Cambridge, MA :: Doors at 10 p.m., $8 cover :: Facebook event page