GIRLI has a way of performing contradictions that captivates audiences. Her humour, for instance, is chaotic and reflects the type of discussion that happens backstage at a rock concert when the crowd is drunk. However, at the same time, she can be measured in her approach to difficult subjects such as rape culture, patriarchy and emotional decay. The tension between humour and hurt, glitter and ash, vulnerability and static all come together in Issue 10: Beautiful Chaos. In fact, there is no one who demonstrates that conflict better than GIRLI.
“Slap on The Wrist,” her current single, is not a typical well-produced industry project intended for consumption by way of passive listening through playlists created solely for that purpose; it attacks with no warning, aggressively and defiantly, made of sheer tireless frustration from watching institutionalized systems showcase predators while audiences breeze by in their version of outrage or content viewing. So GIRLI chooses not to engage in the scrolling process. She transforms the anger of these events into weapons and uses them as tools in her craft of making pop music.
In addition to that, her political beliefs aren’t what set her apart. There are a plethora of artists today who use their art as a means of communicating their cause and wear their activism like a badge of honor; but GIRLI uses her art as a means of surviving and expressing herself through the use of language. Her lyricism can be heard in every lyric sung, in each reference of Riot Grrrl aesthetics paired with the brokenhearted realism exhibited by Amy Winehouse, to the visuals that are purposely designed to overwhelm; neon color scheme images cluttered throughout an emotional confession to each piece of art created. Everything about them evoke feelings of stillness, concrete, and death followed by the sound of laughter cutting through them all.
I think that connection to her work is part of the reason why her audience remains so loyal to her. She rejects what society defines as the ideal artist’s standard of perfection. She has been honest about her lack of confidence, fear, and uncertainty as she shapes herself into who she will be from the time of her early releases, through to the present. Most artists hide this type of experience behind marketing strategies and plans that use algorithms to develop their brand. GIRLI has woven these thoughts directly into her story.
This type of honesty has warped her into an entire ecosystem for her supporters, rather than a singular artist. The listeners who hear her songs see themselves in the message to her support.
In this crazy digital age of the trying to find some balance between certainty, GIRLI is providing an opportunity to have a different type of foundation built on: public vulnerability. This foundation will serve as a new creative architecture for pop culture that shows that through expressing your emotions with integrity there is power. And through this chaos, beautiful loud and beautiful there is a lot of room for freedom!
The Hollywood Six 