Speedy Ortiz might sound like the nickname of a minor Fast & Furious 7 character, but don’t let that put you off the band’s rollicking alt-rock. Lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Sadie Dupuis wrote the bulk of this second album in the Connecticut woods near her mother’s home, filling it with simple messages about starting afresh and cutting out the toxic nonsense in one’s life.
Foil Deer’s 12 tracks don’t all follow in the footsteps of the boldly self-assured single Raising the Skate and its feminist “I’m not bossy, I’m the boss” refrain, and some of its songs tackle personal power struggles with Dupuis’ trademark wordy introspection instead. “This music isn’t coming from a dark place, and without slipping into self-empowerment jargon, it feels stronger,” Dupuis has said.
While nods to 1990s lo-fi rock are still intact, this album sounds sharper and less rushed than 2013’s Major Arcana. Dupuis, drummer Mike Falcone, bassist Darl Fern and newly recruited guitarist Devin McKnight of post-punk band Grass is Green spent a month on Foil Deer in the studio, in contrast with the few days spent on their debut.
Foil Deer comes out on 20 April in the UK and 21 April in the US, via Carpark Records, but we’ve got a stream for you to hear now. What do you make of the band’s latest? Let us know.
