Less than a month away from their supporting slot on Alvvays’ UK/EU tour and amid their own headlining tour, Swedish four-piece band Girl Scout is focused on turning the Eastern hemisphere on its head judging by their latest, roaring single, “I Just Needed You To Know.”
“‘I Just Needed You To Know’ was birthed during a spontaneous jam session in the middle of rehearsing for tour,” said lead singer and guitarist Emma Jansson. “Starting with Viktor toying with the opening riff, almost the entire song was just the band playing in a room with the mics rolling. We wanted the raw energy of the song to remain, so not much has been done to it.”
Jansson, alongside members Per Lindberg (drums), Viktor Spasov (guitar), and Evelina Arvidsson Eklind (bass), began in Stockholm while the soon-to-be alt-rock quartet studied jazz. Although they would go on to make music far outside their initial field of study, the free-flowing nature of jazz remained in the way they seemingly came up with the song on the fly.
Their new single, “I Just Needed You To Know,” is Girl Scout going Defcon 1, rampaging in the spirit of The Breeders but updated with a conscientious mind on social peculiarities that persist.
Demonstrating how much they understand the importance of a build-up, the single takes its time rallying the band members for a subsequent onslaught of violent guitars and brooding basslines. The production work by Alex Farrar (Wednesday, Indigo De Souza) embodies the 90s era of garage rock that the band aimed for—the kind of in-your-face music backed by the hand-held visualizer shot in grainy black-and-white footage.
However, upon listening closely and through the guitar-playing rising in intensity, Jansson questions the blind eye that older generations turn to when it concerns mental health, asking, “It is what it is / But I don’t know what it is.” It’s a sentiment subtle enough for those looking to rage but apparent for anyone reading deeper into lyrics and discovering that the band offers more than what’s asked out of a rager.
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Even in jam sessions like the one where “I Just Needed You To Know” was born, they found substance in the form of the song’s lyrics, promoting more awareness. The same is true for earlier releases such as their Granny Music and Real Life Garbage EPs, both of which were produced by Ali Chant (Soccer Mommy, Perfume Genius). And with their already promising start, their ongoing/upcoming tours are a surefire way to garner a much-deserved wider audience.
“The phrase “it is what it is” is one that I hear a lot amongst the older generations,” said Jansson. “To me, it feels like a way to avoid acknowledging hard times or difficult feelings. It’s such a stifling phrase. What if that’s not enough? What if I want more than to grit my teeth and move on? I think there is a clear generational divide when it comes to the language surrounding mental health, and the willingness to understand the causes behind it.”
Words: David Sosa
“I Just Needed You To Know” by Girl Scout is out now on all streaming services. For more on new music and tour dates, follow them on Instagram and TikTok.
Summer 2024 UK & Europe Tour Dates:
May 20 – Portsmouth, Edge of The Wedge ^
May 21 – Birmingham, The Sunflower Lounge ^
May 22 – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s ^
May 23 – Manchester, Deaf Institute Lodge ^
May 24 – Bearded Theory Festival, Walton-Upon-Trent !
May 25 – Dot To Dot Festival, Bristol !
May 26 – Dot To Dot Festival, Nottingham !
May 28 – London, The Lexington ^
June 22 – Bristol, SWX *
June 23 – Manchester, Ritz *
June 24 – Glasgow, O2 Academy *
June 26 – London, Troxy *
June 27 – Brighton, Chalk *
June 29 – Siren’s Call Festival, Luxembourg !
July 1 – Laval, La Fosse ^
July 2 – Paris, Elysee Montmartre *
July 3 – Amsterdam, Paradiso *
July 4 – Hamburg, Grünspan *
July 5 – Bochum Total Festival, Bochum !
July 7 – Berlin, Huxley’s *
July 8 – Heidelberg, Karlstorbahnhof *
July 9 – Magnolia Summer Festival, Milan !
July 10 – Bologna, Bonsai Garden *
* With Alvvays
^ Headlining
! Festival Date
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