Big Now is the new five track EP from Hemel Hempstead-based indie pop act Low Girl.

By Graeme Smith

After its title track was picked up by BBC Radio 1, 6Music and Radio X, there were plenty of music fans anticipating this EP. From its opener Dead Bird Song to its closer Setraline, it does not disappoint.

Dead Bird Song sets the pace. Starting quiet and introspective, a poetic and well-realised story unfolds through Low Girl’s melancholic vocals. Unexpectedly, things kick up a notch as the track progresses and elements of electronic dance music seep in, changing up the entire atmosphere of the music.

The energy is carried through into track two – the aforementioned title track Big Now. The happy-pop energy of the instrumentals juxtaposed with Low Girl’s sad-pop vocals are really what characterises the EP and is also what sets it apart from Low Girl’s pop contemporaries.

Lovable Maybe slows things down again but its waltzing groove retains the earlier energy. You might not be throwing yourself around to it, but it does induce a gentle sway and gives you another moment to dwell on the soul-baring lyrics. “Can you handle me?” Low Girl asks in the chorus. “Is there hope for me?”

Track four Okay Someday is tied to Lovable Maybe both thematically and by plucked guitar strings. It takes the EP down to its lowest and slowest point before a bombastic closing sets to the scene for the record’s climax.

And it’s perhaps Low Girl’s attention to track placement and the thought put into how the tracks will work together that most impressed me about Big Now. The five tracks must be taken as a whole unit to fully appreciate them as single entities. Closing track Setraline is a wonderfully epic one, but as the closing chapter to the EP it is elevated to an even higher level.

Already on the radar of some of the UK’s biggest taste-makers, it’s only a matter of time before Low Girl joins the pantheon of British pop royalty. I will certainly be watching her career closely. Check out Big Now below.