U.S. Girls - Bless This Mess

Toronto-based Meghan Remy's fourth album as U.S. Girls for 4AD continues in pretty much the same vein as 2020's critically acclaimed 'Heavy Light', which followed a typically idiosyncratic exploration of global and human trauma. This time around, the subject matter is much more personal. Working with her wide cast of collaborators (including Alex Frankel from Holy Ghost!, Roger Manning Jr of Jellyfish, and Basia Bulat) the ten tracks of 'Bless This Mess' plot the conception, pregnancy and birth of Remy's twin boys, and become a chronological account of her journey whilst providing a critiqued look at the world today.
 
Greek mythology inspires the opening track. 'Only Daedalus' oozes glitterball funk and soul, reviving memories of Billy Preston, Earth Wind and Fire, and the halcyon days of Studio 54. It takes its afflatus from the ancient inventor and architect who watched as his son Icarus crashed to his death whilst flying too close to the sun in his home-made wings. Moving to present day, 'Screen Face' presents a country-pop reflection on present-day 'black-mirror' behaviour. The thumping bassline of 'Futures Bet' sounds a lot like Muse's 'Madness', but distils life down to the simple process of 'breathing in, breathing out'.
 
Throughout 'Bless This Mess' Remy's voice progressively changes, as the unborn baby grows and pushes further and further further against the diaphragm. From an early reverb-laden Cyndi Lauper timbre, it shifts towards a shallower, breathier tone which, by the time we get to the up-tempo punchiness of  'So Typically Now', and the slightly chilled 'St James Way', it has acquired a soft electro-breathiness, rather like Alison Goldfrapp, or Saint Etienne's Sarah Cracknell. Eventually, it is the sound of her electric breast pump that becomes the soothing techno beat of new life in 'Pump', which celebrates the rhythmic, as well as the instinctive, joy of motherhood and of new life.
 
I've been a big fan of U,S.Girls ever since watching Meghan's band at Hackney Oslo back in 2016. 'Bless This Mess' merely reinforces that opinion. It is a quirky, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting album that deserves to be discovered by everyone, not just music critics and Radio 6 listeners. Its contemporary relevance and timeless truth applies to every one of us, regardless of age or gender.  As Douglas Adams would surely have put it, “It's about Life, the Universe, and Everything”
 
9/10