Described by label Earth Libraries as “a fantastical meditation on impermanence through the lens of missing persons, and people we miss,” ANDY, or: The Four Horsegirls of the Apocalypse is the sophomore record by Austin’s Pelvis Wrestley. The project originated in 2018, with lead Jammy Violet looking to step from the synth pop of their previous work towards a more country-inflected style. The move was at least in part driven by a desire to reclaim the latter genre from its own stereotypes, a reflection of the wider intention of a project which looks to redefine the American identity. “I started Pelvis Wrestley with the simple concept that identity is a two-way street,” Violet explains:
you may tell from my outfit that I am a cowboi, but the fact that I am a cowboi changes what cowbois are. I can tell from your last name that you are a Smith, but the fact that you are a Smith changes who the Smiths are. I can tell from your flag that you are American, but the fact that you are American changes what America is. The work of Pelvis Wrestley is to alter identity markers by claiming and participating in them in order to subvert their direction and meaning in the larger world.
ANDY, or: The Four Horsegirls of the Apocalypse is a continuation of this project, not only pushing the country sensibilities further but reimagining exactly what Americana can mean. ‘Found a Friend’ opens with lush washes of synth, a cowboy fever dream as experienced in their bed after a long ride home, while ‘No One You Know’ adds an eighties sleekness and offbeat charm. There’s the sense of witnessing a stylistic evolution in real time, with genre conventions being bent out of shape and the artist just as curious in and surprised by the result as the audience. “I don’t how to hold in my hand what I hold in my heart,” as Violet sings on ‘Act2ualize’ I got my finger on the pulse of it, but that is just the start.”
This presents in a number of ways. Tracks such as ‘Horse Dreams’ feel like country songs twisted strange, while those like ‘Holy Host’ bend so far out they end up far closer to baroque pop. The (kinda) title track ‘Andy’ splits the difference between these two styles, unfurling from a simple acoustic pluck and distorting strange with electronic interference before rising into an almost orchestral richness in the second half. And then ‘The World is a Bucking Horse’ ups the tempo to create a cathartic and triumphant finale which sits closer to contemporaries like Spencer Krug. If country music is a microcosm of a wider identity, then Pelvis Wrestley offer a timely reminder of the truth behind the prevailing wisdom. They might not make Americana in the style accepted by those dominant in the genre, but without displacement and change, America would be something else entirely.
ANDY, or: the Four Horsegirls of the Apocalypse is out now via Earth Libraries and available from Bandcamp.
