girli shares masterful new album “Matriarchy” and music video for “Feel My Feelings”
“A cult figure and advocate for the next generation of LGBTQIA+ music” - EQUATE
"A fresh era for the outspoken cult heroine" - CLASH
“What being an artist is all about” – The Guardian
“Fearlessness defines her every step” – DIY
“girli is using her platform to ignite conversations around feminism, sexuality and mental health” – Gay Times
“Alt-pop icon” - The Line of Best Fit
Today, alt-pop sensation girli shares her brand new, boundary defying album Matriarchy.
Matriarchy Album cover art
Heralding a new era for girli, Matriarchy is a bright, evocative and insightful record that sees the celebrated, multi-faceted artist take the reins with full creative control. From the opening lines of ‘Be With Me’, girli’s commendation to self-love, the tone of every track that follows is masterful. Doused in a distinct electro-pop sheen that gleams alongside girli’s open and honest lyrics, Matriarchy truly cements her place as a cult figure, ambassador for the LGBTQIA+ community and frontrunner of the next gen of alt-pop music.
Speaking about the new album, girli says: “Matriarchy is an album of honest, authentic, confident but also painfully self-aware songs. It’s a story of the pain of growing up and healing from experiences that diminish your self worth to nothingness. It’s about building yourself back up again after pain, setting boundaries and becoming a queen of your own queendom. It’s about the pain and joy of the queer experience, the rollercoaster of adulthood and mental illness, setting boundaries and learning to love yourself and ultimately finding your people, your community, your matriarchy.”
The release comes alongside new focus single ‘Feel My Feelings’. Brimming with introspection, girli’s lyrics channel relatable themes of self-doubt, inner drama and being overwhelmed by emotion, describing herself as “the queen of overthinking.” Its accompanying music video heightens the emotive feel ten-fold, shifting from lavish Renaissance scenes to surrealist underwater shots which capture the track’s dramatic energy to the max.
girli adds: “‘Feel My Feelings’ is a song about being an oversensitive, overemotional, over-reactive person. It’s an apology to a partner who’s getting frustrated with how emotional and dramatic I am. It’s about not being able to control my emotions and mood swings and complicating my relationships beyond my control.
“Like the music video for the title track ‘Matriarchy’, this video is set in an unknown historical time, coexisting in the past and future. It captures the love and hate embodied in toxic relationships. We see girli submerged in a water tank, drowning in her emotions, while her lover stands on the other side of the glass unable to hear her. Eventually, she pulls her lover in with her, drowning them both in the depths of their feelings.”
Key highlights on Matriarchy include ‘Crush Me Up’, a vivid exploration of the intoxicating allure of infatuation. Comparing love to a drug, girli positions herself as the very substance, aspiring to be the epitome of a euphoric high in the same way her love interest is to her. ‘Nothing Hurts Like a Girl’ is a gleaming pop diamond forged out of post-breakup despair which celebrates the intensity of queer female love and desire. The album’s title track and anthem of queer power ‘Matriarchy’ is the shining star, leading the way by showcasing girli’s unfiltered expression of emotion in her own bold, compelling and sexy way.
Further insightful moments come with ‘Overthinking’, a musing on mental health and the anxieties of the modern world, the sweetly melodic ‘Made To Break’ which contrasts its bright sonics with more pensive lyrics, while ‘Poser’ and ‘Her Too’ brim with sharp rhythms and cut-throat lyrics that are poised to become big dancefloor moments.
Closing with tender acoustic guitars on ‘Happier Her’, Matriarchy feels complete in its truest sense. It’s what any good album should be; authentic, insightful, emotional, unique. For girli, it’s the defining moment of her glorious new era.
LISTEN TO MATRIARCHY - THE NEW ALBUM
To celebrate the release, girli will be travelling the UK for a selection of in-store performances at record shops across the country. See below for the full list of dates:
May 17: Jacaranda, Liverpool
May 18 (12pm): Assai Glasgow
May 18 (6pm): Assai Edinburgh
May 19: Vinyl Whistle, Leeds
May 20: Bear Tree, Sheffield
May 21: Rough Trade, Bristol
May 22: Rough Trade, Nottingham
May 23: Rough Trade East, London
girli also recently launched her unique interactive online experience the girliverse, allowing special insights into the world of Matriarchy and some of girli’s favourite music and cultural references. From a library room containing books that girli is currently reading, to pictures of some of her favourite LGBTQIA+ figures adorning the walls, the girliverse offers a truly unique experience for fans to engage with girli like no other.
On top of that, girli has also embarked on a world headline tour, recently wrapping on her first ever Australian tour last month with radio premiere support from Triple J on previous single ‘Crush Me Up’, and a US leg which included a date at Los Angeles infamous Troubadour venue. In May and June she will hit the UK and Europe, concluding at London’s iconic Heaven venue on 20th June. Tickets are on-sale now at www.girlimusic.com. Full list of dates below:
girli Matriarchy tour poster
May 29: Cardiff, The Globe
May 31: Dublin, Academy 2
Jun 02: Glasgow, St Lukes
Jun 03: Leeds, The Wardrobe
Jun 04: Brighton, Patterns
Jun 06: Paris, La Maroquinerie
Jun 07: Amsterdam, Paradiso Tolhuistuin
Jun 09: Copenhagen, RUST
Jun 11: Berlin, Frannz
Jun 12: Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
Jun 14: Vienna, B72
Jun 16: Zürich, EXIL
Jun 19: Manchester, Academy 2
Jun 20: London, Heaven
girli’s passions have always migrated beyond music and she continues to use her platform to ignite conversations around feminism, sexuality, identity and mental health, opening up topics that most have always shied away from. Representation matters more so now than ever, and girli is ready to rewrite the rules.
Milly Toomey (AKA girli) has been on an explorative journey of self-discovery, only to conclude that she can’t be boxed in. Her power is her vulnerability. Her courage is deep-rooted in years of self-reflection, feeling misshapen and not feeling as though she belongs. The North London native will forever use her platform to forge a new femininity, one that is bold and unrestrained. The new music comes fresh off the back of girli’s 2023 EP why am I like this?, which includes previously released singles, ‘Cheap Love’, ‘Imposter Syndrome’ and ‘I Really F**ked It Up’.
girli image credit Claryn Chong
