U.S. Girls is a Toronto-based

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental techniques such as musique concrète, al ...

project formed in 2007, consisting solely of American musician and record producer Meghan Remy."U.S. Girls’ Meg Remy Is an American Badass Living in Canada"
''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

'', September 24, 2015. She had released music on a variety of independent record labels before signing to 4AD in 2015. '' Half Free'', her first record for 4AD, was released the same year. It garnered a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2016 The Juno Awards of 2016, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Calgary the weekend of 2–3 April 2016. The ceremonies were held at the Scotiabank Saddledome and televised on CTV. It was the first televised awards show to be ...

, and was a shortlisted finalist for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize. Her next records '' In a Poem Unlimited'' (2018) and '' Heavy Light'' (2020) also received the same accolades. Remy collaborates with a number of Toronto-based musicians on both songwriting and music production.

Background

Remy grew up in Illinois and attended a Catholic high school. She was raised mostly by her mother. She was in her first punk band as a teenager. She cites

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

and

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

as some of her early influences. She attended an art college in Oregon, concentrating on paper arts and graphic design. The name "U.S. Girls" originated from a casual conversation she was having with a friend talking about a European band coming to town. She joked, "Wait 'til they get a look at these U.S. girls!" and the phrase stuck.

Music career

Remy began making music in the mid-2000s, playing in bands in Chicago and Portland. In 2008 she started recording solo at home. After signing to 4AD in 2015, first album Half Free received critical acclaim from publications including

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

. She performed the album at festivals through 2016, including

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

. In 2018, Remy's sixth studio album, '' In a Poem Unlimited,'' was released on 4AD''.'' and was awarded

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

's Best New Music accolade. She made her Coachella debut in 2019 as part of the album cycle. 2020's Heavy Light was released shortly before the pandemic, preceded by singles '4 American Dollars' and 'Overtime'.

Writing career

In 2021, Remy released her first book 'Begin by Telling', published by Bookhug Press. CBC.ca wrote that " experimental pop sensation Meg Remy spins a web out from her body to myriad corners of American hyper-culture. Through illustrated lyric essays depicting memories from early childhood to present day, Remy paints a stark portrait of a spectacle-driven country.".

Personal life

Remy later moved the band to Toronto from Chicago in 2010 after marrying Canadian musician Max "Slim Twig" Turnbull. Alongside Turnbull, she operates record label Calico Corp., and sometimes performs as a guest vocalist with Turnbull's

Badge Époque Ensemble Badge Époque Ensemble is a Canadian musical project led by Max Turnbull. They are most noted for their self-titled debut album, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. In addition to Turnbull, the band includes guitarist ...

.Stuart Berman
"Badge Époque Ensemble, Self Help"
''

'', November 21, 2020. She is a permanent resident of Canada.

Discography

Studio albums *''Introducing...'' (2008) *''Go Grey'' (2010) *''U.S. Girls on KRAAK'' (2011) *''Gem'' (2012) *'' Half Free'' (2015) *'' In a Poem Unlimited'' (2018) *'' Heavy Light'' (2020) * ''Bless This Mess'' (2023) Split albums *''U.S. Girls / Slim Twig'' (2011) (with Slim Twig) EPs *''Kankakee Memories'' (2008) *''U.S. Girls/Dirty Beaches Split EP'' (2011) *''Free Advice Column'' (2013) Compilations *''Early Works'' (2011)

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control American indie pop groups Canadian indie pop groups Musical groups from Chicago Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 2007 American emigrants to Canada 4AD artists Siltbreeze Records artists