all boy/all girl

New York’s All Boy/All Girl is the type of avant-pop collective that has a theatrical flair informing every part of its aesthetic. For its recent EP Trophy the band actually made little trophies to be purchased along with the album, also releasing a browser game called “Trophy Smasher” that lets users take a hammer and do exactly what the game’s title implies. Below, The A.V. Club is premiering the video for All Boy/All Girl’s “Glitters,” which is another wild step as the band takes Wes Anderson’s color palette and uses it to highlight its dynamic eccentricities. In the clip, people participate in a demented game show, and while it’s visually stunning it grows increasingly more unsettling with the start of each new round. - A.V. Club

Danielle Lovier has some sort of fire pipes. She belts ferociously on this first, surprising taste of all boy/all girl‘s forthcoming release. “Glitters” starts off sweet. Lovier’s voice is boiling honey, but it turns effortlessly violent. Those vocal flames lick the tips of your toes and a cacophony of beautiful sound splashing from the 7-piece band that is building on a foundation of musical theater meets punk rock. I mean this, of course, less in the American Idiot sense, and more in the fresh, delightfully Bell-House-Theater way that will set this band apart. - Portals

all boy/all girl’s founding members come from opposite ends of the genre spectrum. But when experimental musician Nicholas Rahn saw Danielle Lovier performing pop and jazz standards on a ukulele, he knew they needed to work together.

After two years of playing strictly cover songs, they two moved to New York, recruited a band, and released 2013’s Tiny Iglesia, a compelling LP marked by complex orchestral arrangements and unusual harmonies. Now they’re going for an even more Avant garde sound with their latest EP, Trophy, due out March 3rd via Grind Select Records.

The EP is previewed today with lead single “Not It”. Described as a “commentary on consumerist culture, and whether material items can bring happiness,” the deeply assertive message is off-set by more sonically nuanced components, like Jessie Rogowski’s eerie harmonies, a sputtering string section, and the ethereal textures that abound throughout. Listen in below. - Consequence Of Sound

We’ve learned from experience that extravagance in music is rarely a good thing. Which makes this new ‘Trophy‘ EP from All Boy/All Girl something of an anomaly, I guess. Opening track ‘Glitters‘ is exuberantly extravagant, a raging concoction of fiery vocals and an almost theatre-like sense of drama. There’s no subtlety, no point of reflection, just the drama and the bravado, tumbling together across three tumultuous minutes. Which makes it a rather apt musical equivalent of the bands story thus far. Now a seven-piece based in NYC, life for All Boy/All Girl began when Nicholas Rahn – music experimentalist and double bass player – approached Danielle Lovier after seeing her play pop and jazz tunes on a ukelele. Cutting a long story short, the two bonded instantly, toured the U.S released a killer album, relocated, filled out the band – and all that jazz.

All of which brings us to here; a brand new EP which sounds perhaps more dramatic as ever before but, notwithstanding the aforementioned first track, melds their blueprint with a hushed sense of intimacy and moments of gorgeous restraint. Still a completely unique proposition, the theatrical nature of the songs still sits as the centre-piece to their sound. ‘Lion’ leads with ninety-seconds of purring vocals straight of a musical soundtrack before a wonderfully vibrant instrumental shifts the tone in to something much more purposeful.

From here, both the title-track and the ‘Not It‘ provide glittery displays of jazz/pop crossovers, where boisterous vocals ride atop striking and climactic sweeps of strings and percussion, before final track ‘Congratulations‘ closes proceedings in a notably reticent manner, as gentle strings are eventually joined by Lovier’s understated voice. Acting something like the calm after the storm, it’s a surprisingly subtle farewell to a unique and masterly EP in which the band take a further leap out in to the unknown, further in to an unparalleled surroundings where they continue to flourish.

Grab an exclusive full stream of the EP below. It’s released next week. - Gold Flake Paint

"...If you’re a fan of Dirty Projectors and St. Vincent, you’ll really enjoy the warm and inviting music that all boy/all girl are creating..." - Philly.com

"...it’s impressive to watch their cat-like agility to take their sound from classical and dramatic to abrasive thrash-rock (apparently, you can thrash on the uke) in the span of a song or two." - Fixed Axis

"Listening to any part of all boy/all girl’s album Tiny Iglesia evokes the feeling of flipping through a photo album you had forgotten on a shelf for years. Each song is a miniature portrait of nostalgia, framed by themes of nature and friendship (and colorfully painted by a seven piece band including a ukulele, viola, cello, and double bass)" - Cold Front Magazine

"all boy/all girl play an impressive blend of classical instruments, which are backed up with female fronted indie-pop; the combination works staggeringly well on Tiny Iglesia. The juxtaposition of modern and classical elements yields a rich, delicate sound only to be complimented with familiar pop inspired textures and play styles." - Shaking Hands with Savages