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Aug 01, 2024 By Scotty Dransfield Web Exclusive

Girl and Girl are an up-and-coming Australian rock band, and Call a Doctor is their debut album after signing to Sub Pop last year. The four-piece is led by singer and songwriter Kai James, whose nervous, shaky vocals and self-conscious lyrics recall several mid- to late-’00s indie and emo touchstones such as Bright Eyes or Say Anything. James’ Aunty Liss holds down the drums and is responsible for much of the band’s jumpy energy. Call a Doctor, being a Sub Pop release, is excellently produced, surging with a brisk indie-rock sound that finds the band easily locking into a groove, song after song.

They have a likeable charm, which is why it’s disappointing that Girl and Girl’s debut record attempts a half-baked conceptual structure that limits its impact. “INTRO” starts things off in the cringiest possible manner, explaining the story—a young hypochondriac struggles to find the source of his daily mental and emotional struggles—via a theatrical voice-over narration that is never as clever as it wants to be. Luckily, some tracks escape this shallow conceit, such as the adventurous and passionate “Maple Jean and the Anthropocene,” which proves that James and company have what it takes to tell stories and build them into songs. Other songs like “Hello” and “Mother” ride on tight, jammy performances, transcending their sometimes clunky lyrics.

Call a Doctor is worth checking out, especially for the moments when they rock out and seem about to take off, even if they never quite do. Girl and Girl is certainly a band to watch, but they may need to loosen up their songwriting to truly reach their potential. (www.subpop.com/artists/girl_and_girl)

Author rating: 6/10