Verdigirls – “Small Moves” [EP] [Album Review]

Sisters Anna and Catherine Wolk are the voices and inspiration behind Verdigirls. Growing up in rural Connecticut, and now based in New York, these women have developed a sound that is both ethereal and haunting. Classically trained and playing music since they were kids, their first offering, 2014’s “Heartbreak Hour,” saw said track make it onto the soundtrack for both Marvel’s The Fantastic Four and MTV’s Scream. Now they have returned with a new EP, Small Moves (pre-order here).

They describe their sound as bedroom pop, a label that describes not only their DIY production but also the essence of their music; music which encourages introspection and self-reflection. It is quiet, unassuming, and introverted while contemplating some of life’s big questions including fear, anxiety and depression. Anyone who has ever struggled with darker feelings of inadequacy and/or the fear that nothing you do is good enough will be able to relate. These women get it, and use their music to confront these common but little-discussed experiences.

The EP’s first single, “Daylight Savings,” is a delight. It is like sunshine when the world around you is bleak. It commands more of the listener than just simply to listen. The song buries deeper, drawing out thoughts and emotions you didn’t know you had. Written by Catherine, it describes her experiences living with agoraphobia wanting desperately to shut the world out and withdraw to the safety of her own bedroom.

Be sure to set your clocks ahead of this “Daylight Savings.”

For me, though, it is the fourth track, “Women in Fiction,” that I especially loved. Slightly more upbeat and “pop” than the rest, it is no less thought provoking. “How does it feel to be real. To exist beyond pages or a film.” It is an examination of the strange irony that women are confronted with within their lives; of being simultaneously seen but unseen. So many depictions of women in the media, and in public spaces, are defined by and for the male gaze and male fantasy while the real thoughts, feelings, and experiences of women are invisible, as if they don’t exist.

Recorded for the most part in Ridgewood, Queens, the rest of the EP is similar. The Wolks’ voices remain restrained throughout, blending in with the gentle strains of violin and cello, with interesting effects on the synth completing this wonderfully compelling musical experience. It’s melancholy and sweet, darkness and light in one neat package. I feel blessed to able to introduce this to the world, it is a special EP and one that will imprint itself onto any who hear it.

Small Moves Track Listing:

01. Daylight Savings
02. Small Moves
03. White Magick / Black Magick
04. Women In Fiction
05. The State

Run Time: 21:00
Release Date: May 17, 2019
Record Label: Substitute Scene Records