If you have suffered from heart ache, a lockdown break up or a messy end to a friendship then GIRLI’s ‘Ex Talk’ will understand, soothe and empower. GIRLI is the new voice of this generation – breaking away from the image of the perfect popstar and speaking openly about her pansexuality, emotional breakups and political issues. ‘Ex Talk’ consists of 5 tracks, three of which have already been released as singles - ‘Passive Aggressive’, ‘Has Been’ and ‘Letter to My Ex’. Taking to Instagram, GIRLI stated ‘I HOPE THESE 5 SONGS ABOUT SUCKY AF HEARTBREAK MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOUR OWN SUCKY AF HEARTBREAKS. This is the new era of GIRLI & there’s so much more to come.’
The tracks are anthems in their own right, with GIRLI showing off her genre eclectic explorations – from bubblegum pop, punk to rap. The EP opens with fierce-pop banger ‘Has Been’. GIRLI’s raw vocals combined with the ‘punch in the air’ backing which is reminiscent of Dream Wife’s ‘Hey Heartbreaker’ and Riot Grrrl bands such as Bikini Kill. ‘I’ll do me / so you do you’, which GIRLI sings sums up the tracks overall message.
‘Passive Agressive’ is similarly a track with a Riot Grrrl feel to it, centred on ‘anyone who has talked about you behind your back then been nice to your face’. A narrative that too many have experience, GIRLI asks why this has to happen with a grunge-pop beat and infectious chorus ‘that is impossible not to shout and dance around the room to.’
‘Letter to my Ex’ dropped last year and was named an ‘anti-pop bop’. Opening with ‘I feel so f***ing sad / I feel so f***ing free / I feel so good now you’re not the one who’s f***ing me’, already invokes a sense of closure with chaotic instrumental leaving one feeling – as GIRLI puts it – “angry or sad or happy or sexy or all of it”.
‘What A Shame!’ offers a new side of GIRLI from the previous tracks. The track follows a more melodic rock theme with the chorus harbouring vivid electro-synths. GIRLI’s message essentially speaks to seeing someone date someone that changes them and they realise it too late. What a shame. She conjures the images singing, ‘You play the fool so then he can be king / It’s a tragedy /Oh, what a shame, shame, shame, shame’. In typical GIRLI fashion, the emotional vulnerability combined with ironic imagery creates a raw and relatable track.
The final track on the EP differs completely to the usual grunge-pop beat GIRLI masters. The slower ballad strips away the usual chaotic beat behind GIRLI’s vocals, allowing the listener to hear the raw, emotional lyrics of GIRLI’s experiences with heartbreak and relationships. The honesty of GIRLI’s vulnerability as the end of the EP shows the range of emotions experienced when going through heartbreak – anger, not caring and empowerment to confusion and vulnerability.
The honesty throughout ‘Ex Talk’ and range of emotions invoked shows GIRLI’s ability to master relatable lyricism with either an up-beat bop or slower, melodic ballad. GIRLI has a podcast called GIRLI IRL, where she speaks to other artists about their experiences with feminism, queerness and relationships. Guests include Ella Grace Denton and Nadya from Pussy Riot. The promise of ‘more to come‘ and this being a ‘new era for GIRLI’ only excites existing fans and new comers in to what experiences the artist will spin in to relatable anthems next.
