Last year, influential US indie label Matador brought thrilling teenage three-piece Horsegirl to a wider audience. Their latest signing, Lifeguard, have much in common: another precocious three-piece from the same thriving Chicago scene, they also feature Horsegirl guitarist-singer Penelope Lowenstein’s brother Isaac on drums. Drawing on alt-rock touchstones such as Mission of Burma and Les Savy Fav, Lifeguard’s sound owes much to the blend of melody and dissonance that characterised Sonic Youth circa Goo, all performed with a youthful brio.
However, as guitarist-vocalist Kai Slater told So Young magazine: “I believe we’re finding our own path – we do like these old bands, but it’s not about nailing this sound from a different time.” Bassist and vocalist Asher Case, meanwhile, feels that their home city is just as big an influence: “Chicago’s a big part of all of us. There definitely was a historic Chicago scene… but that scene has evolved into this one. It never stopped.”
