“On the new U.S. Girls album Scratch It, Meg Remy dials down the politics to pick through inner turmoil and history against a backdrop of dusty, soulful numbers.”
– The Line Of Best Fit
“The album sets up a journey through different aspects of what has made up the roots of contemporary music without feeling like just an homage to something in the distant past […] Every single note seems to be perfectly conceived and in its proper place.”
– Northern Transmissions
“The record is as textured as it is smooth. It’s as serious as it is playful. It’s as relaxed as it is energized. And through its harmonious balance, it’s the strongest she’s ever sounded, and the most honest she’s ever been. All accomplished with the usual U.S. Girls signatures – merging genres, poignant lyrics, and rapturous vocals.”
– Impose Magazine
“Nearly 20 years into her career, Scratch It continues reaching into her endless bag of tricks, masterfully weaving together gospel, disco, and garage rock.”
– The Alternative
Today, Toronto-based producer, film composer, and author Meg Remy finally shares her intuitive and adventurous U.S. Girls album, Scratch It.
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When an artist follows her instinct, rather than money or trends, she can find inspiration anywhere. When Remy was asked to play a festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas — over one thousand miles away from her Toronto home — it was instinct that led her to enlist guitarist friend Dillon Watson (D. Watusi, Savoy Motel, Jack Name) to assemble a one-time Nashville-based band for the occasion. The performance went so well that she decided to ride that energy right back to where the impromptu band had initially rehearsed, in Music City itself, kickstarting the journey toward Scratch It.
In just ten days, Remy and the band — Watson on guitar, Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, Loretta Lynn) on bass, Domo Donoho on drums, and both Jo Schornikow and Tina Norwood on keys, as well as harmonica legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison) — recorded Scratch It live off the floor with minimal overdubs, mixed to tape. Closeness and ease emanate from this core band with Remy’s singular voice sparkling on top of every tune, the most relaxed it has ever been.
Scratch It weaves together country, gospel, garage rock, soul, disco, folk balladry, and more, with Remy’s masterful songwriting threaded throughout. Her choice to discard the computer-based production of previous albums in favor of two-inch tape serves the songs well, introducing an element of sonic shapeshifting expected from an artist nearly twenty years into making records. If instinct was an instrument, Remy would be a virtuoso. Scratch It and see.
In anticipation of the record’s arrival, Remy previously introduced Scratch It with the release of an epic 12-minute lead single, “Bookends” — a sprawling ballad that pays tribute to Remy’s late friend and former Power Trip frontman Riley Gale, through the lens of Remy’s reading of John Carey’s Eyewitness To History, a historical collection of 300+ eyewitness accounts of great world events spanning twenty-four centuries. The single arrived alongside a cinematic short directed by Caity Arthur.
This was followed by two subsequent singles: “Like James Said” — an ELO-styled nugget of AM gold and lyrical response to James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing” about the healing power of dancing alone, written alongside Rich Morel (“Rosebud,” “4 American Dollars”) — and “No Fruit” — a slinky funk diss track, with co-writer/guitarist Dillon Watson’s wah-wah punctuating Remy’s biting and poetic prophecy, which could be aimed at a lover or the greater modern world.
In celebration of her new album, Meg Remy will also take her Nashville U.S. Girls band on a US/EU/UK tour this Summer, with additional dates in Canada alongside a special Canadian band — the routing (which kicks off in Asheville, NC this Saturday June 21) is listed below.
+ Tickets on sale now for U.S. Girls North American and UK / Europe Tour +
The new U.S. Girls album Scratch It is out digitally and on standard vinyl and CD today (Friday, June 20) — for more details head HERE.
U.S. Girls – Scratch It
4AD0807
1. Like James Said
2. Dear Patti
3. Firefly on the 4th of July
4. The Clearing
5. Walking Song
6. Bookends
7. Emptying the Jimador
8. Pay Streak
9. No Fruit
June
21st – Grey Eagle, Asheville NC, US
22nd – The Atlantis, Washington DC, US
23rd – Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA, US
25th – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, US
26th – The Rockwell, Somerville MA, US
28th – Grog Shop, Cleveland OH, US
29th – Lincoln Hall, Chicago IL, US
September
9th – Lodge Room, Los Angeles CA, US
11th – Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco CA, US
26th – The Mod Club, Toronto ON, Canada – The Mod Club
27th – POP Montreal, Montreal, QC – POP Montreal
October
26th – Stereo, Glasgow, UK
27th – The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland
29th – Band On The Wall, Manchester, UK
30th – EartH Theatre, London, UK
November
1st – London Calling, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2nd – Bedroomdisco, Darmstadt, Germany
3rd – Bumann & Sohn, Cologne, Germany
4th – La Hasard Ludque, Paris, France
6th – L’Usine, Geneva, Switzerland
7th – Bogen F, Zurich, Switzerland