U.S. Girls played The Rockwell – 6/26

Meg Remy brought her shapeshifting art-pop project U.S. Girls to Somerville’s Rockwell last month, with support from singer/songwriter Kass Richards.

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Look, I’ll admit to the largely bygone Pitchfork Effect being my introduction to the world of U.S. Girls. 2018’s psych-tinged, danceable and highly-replayable In A Poem Unlimited deservedly earned a Best New Music designation around the time that still meant something, broadly speaking, and got a ton of mileage from me that year. I caught the band at a packed, electric Great Scott show a couple months later, and at The National’s “There’s No Leaving New York” fest in Queens a few months after that. Those were both great shows featuring mastermind Meg Remy leading a sizable powerhouse band, but for whatever (probably pandemic-related) reason, I lost touch with them for a while there after.

But that doesn’t mean Remy – the project’s sole constant member since its mid-oughts inception – slowed down. She’s dropped three records since, including June’s Scratch It, expanding the U.S. Girls sonic palette towards soul, soft rock and beyond, and brought all sides of the band to the Rockwell last week for a ranging, adventurous set.

While the lineup was pared down slightly to a five-piece since our last meeting, the band still sounded masterful with Remy at the helm as their charismatic commander. Taking advantage of The Rockwell’s intimate staging, she was frequently getting up close with the crowd to put on a captivating performance with an effortless air. And the setlist – at a generous 20-plus cuts – hit on some Poem favorites, new songs, and rather old ones. All in all, a great time to catch up.

Opener Kass Richards, a Massachusetts local and U.S. Girls alum, opened the night with an arresting solo set of voice and guitar (featuring an always-welcome John Prine cover) before joining Remy for a reunion duet later in the night.

Check out photos of the whole evening below.