HOMEGIRL! isn’t interested in playing by the rules, and their new album, “MEAT HEAD,” proves it. A daring herbal-release album full of dusty samples, crooked beats, and ruthlessly sharp humor, the trio presents bracing hip-hop, funny but also profound. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Madlib, J-Dilla, and MF Doom, "MEAT HEAD" makes its own way with a DIY ethos that never compromises on bona fides.
"Narrated by Werner Herzog" is the standout track and an excellent example of HOMEGIRL!'s skill for stitching humor, philosophy, and avant-garde production into something singularly their own. Meanwhile, “What a Waste!” leans into raw emotion, a manifestation of the group’s notion that music should be subjective, sometimes absurd, other times woefully introspective, but always real. Pieced together over bedroom sessions in Ableton Live and recorded with field recorders, the album mirrors creativity in its purest form.
Inspired by long-distance friend collaborations between three best friends, HOMEGIRL! is a testament to the evolution of an artist. What had begun as a casual pandemic-era email project became a serious pursuit that had the trio gathering in Phoenix and doubling down on their vision. Their influences are scattered far beyond hip-hop, including Frank Zappa, Ween, Steve Albini, and video games and film narratives. Such eclecticism is present on "MEAT HEAD," where each cut is like a sonic and emotional collage.
Spanning 37 minutes across 13 tracks, "MEAT HEAD" is an album that cannot be pigeonholed. Is it messy, thought-provoking, replayable ad infinitum, the kind of record that, in capital letters, REWARDS CLOSE LISTENING while still delivering a knockout punch on the first play? Tune in now to dive into the unpredictable world of HOMEGIRL!