Girl Gordon shares new single "The Need" from upcoming Corruptor EP out on 8/16

"The opening words of Corruptor, “Standing in a field that no longer exists / Filled in with concrete or some gray corporate shit,” refers to the location where the Cincinnati-based DIY punk and indie rock band, Girl Gordon, took their first band photographs in 2023. Within a couple weeks of taking those photos, the barren, frosted-over patch of land so indicative of the Midwest, littered with lotto scratchers and bottles, was unexpectedly fenced off for the construction of a monolithic building. The outrage and indignation in the wake of corporate control in its many forms permeates Girl Gordon’s debut EP. Girl Gordon formed in 2022 after lead singer and bassist, Jerika Hayes, recruited her friends to “play loud music in her basement,” as lead guitarist Hannah Blanchette recalls, ultimately bringing together Blanchette, Hayes, Cory Linman on drums, and Patrick Mitchell on rhythm guitar and vocals. When asked who Girl Gordon’s influences are, the members often laugh and say that it’ll vary depending on which member you’re speaking to. This musically omnivorous nature across the band creates a sound that draws upon many corners of punk, indie rock, and underground music. The EP’s influences span foundational bands such as Sleater-Kinney, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Placebo, and Nirvana, while also drawing upon heavyweights from the past ten years like Mannequin Pussy, Wednesday, and Drug Church. Recorded, mixed, and engineered in the Girl Gordon basement by Cory Linman, Corruptor’s DIY ethos allowed for an exploratory creative approach unfettered by limited studio time. New riffs emerged months in, vocal harmonies developed through live performance, and large cuts of improvised noise were recorded to be mined and arranged later. Corruptor begins with the title track, kicking down the door with wails of eerie feedback, the guitars and vocals simmering and boiling over in waves throughout its brief two-and-a-half minutes. “Peripheral Heaven” creates a cognitive dissonance with its upbeat tone all while ruminating on desire, longing, and the insufferable heat of the summer. The sprawling noise-rock of “The Need,” born out of a single, insistent guitar riff, speaks to the pressures of societal beauty standards that are further perpetuated by social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram. This track segues into “Great American Speeches,” a burst of sardonic punk energy that collages out-of-context quotes from political figures across decades to highlight the incoherence that emerges from a country that treats politics like entertainment. “Chicago Gyros & Dogs 2,” one of the first songs the band wrote together, is a grunge number of highs and lows, which Mitchell says explores “friends, changing relationships, and the process of forgiveness.” The EP closes with “Blood’s Dried,” affectionately dubbed “Slow Song” by the band for months before it had a proper title. Hayes describes this love song as about “the difficult, messy, and ugly side of any relationship and how wounds heal but often never fully go away, but how despite this, if you’ve got someone really good, you can learn more about yourself and the other person after the dust settles.”

Additional Album Credit:

Hannah Blanchette (she/her) - guitar, vocals (track 4) Jerika Hayes (she/her) - bass, vocals (tracks 1-3, 5-6) Cory Linman (he/him) - drums Patrick Mitchell (he/him) - guitar, vocals (tracks 2, 5, 6) Recorded, mixed, and engineered by Cory Linman. Mastered by Hallie Melton. Photos by Jay Smith. Cover design by Cory Linman.