Throughout 2023, Gloom Girl MFG was one of the most talked-about rock bands in Music City, and in a few other places too. And for good reason — they played their proverbial asses off in the run up to and in the wake of their excellent debut EP Factory. On Friday, the group returns with a six-song followup called Polycrisis that shows us even more of their range, from raging rippers like opener “Bougie Girl” to pensive closer “I Love You.” Between the two lies “Damaged.”
It begins quietly with clipped phrases that start and stop as singer-guitarist Paige MacKinnon narrates the ways that struggles with mental health can strain all kinds of relationships and create an exhausting cycle. As the situation grows more intense, the energy ramps up into the piano-driven pre-chorus, blending soul and heavy, heavy rock — in a way that reminds me of A Giant Dog — as MacKinnon sings: “I wanna believe, I wanna dance with someone / I wanna deceive, I wanna grieve with no one / You’re taking me back / I lost her all in a flash.”
“'Damaged' is about being birthed from death,” MacKinnon says in a release, “from which we've no choice but to move forward, often damaged, then healed, then damaged again. The ultimate Polycrisis wrapped up in the ultimate Gloom Girl MFG ballad; let us reintroduce ourselves.”
Today, we’re very pleased to premiere the music video for the track. Before the music starts, director J. Austin Dellamano opens on MacKinnon in a state of panic. Intercut with footage of the whole band performing, MacKinnon appears in other scenes that show her at the mercy of forces she can’t even see, let alone control. In one striking vignette, she holds a disco ball that’s reflecting incredibly bright light; however, it's hidden from her by a blindfold.
Produced by Cage the Elephant’s Brad Shultz and engineered and mixed by Jeremy Ferguson, Polycrisis hits all your favorite streaming platforms on Friday. Gloom Girl MFG celebrates the occasion a little early, though, with a show Thursday night, May 2, at The Basement East — advance tickets are $19.27. Until then, follow Gloom Girl MFG on Instagram for more.
