Mall Girl progress their brand of emo pop on Pure Love

In songcraft and ambition alike, it improves on 2022’s solid Superstar, while maintaining the core of what works: off-kilter pop, kitsch, humour, and impressive musicianship.

“Emo chillwave” doesn’t necessarily sound like the most appetising descriptor, but they’re somewhere in that vicinity on highlight “All I Should Have Said”. Waves of pristine guitars wash over a marching band beat (drummer Veslemøy Narvesen is the MVP of the record, her jazzy flourishes making almost every cut a good 25% more enjoyable). Bethany Forseth-Reichberg’s vocals are restrained but never disinterested; all combined, it cuts a lovely, melancholic cloth.

Elsewhere, “Glue Myself 2 U” is another peak, simultaneously Pure Love’s prettiest and toughest effort. It’s reminiscent of Swing Lo Magellan-era Dirty Projectors, with blasts of noise to keep you on your toes. They’re closer to Midwest pastiche on the truth-in-advertising “Emo Shred”, but the polished pop adds a layer beyond the staples of the genre’s clean riffing. The track unfolds in pieces, as though they don’t want to give up too much all at once. With lyrics concerning beaches and Chevrolets, there’s a touch of the cosplay to it, but the tweak on a tried and tested format is effective enough to easily overlook it.

Most interesting are the moments we hear Mall Girl go full prog. A minute and a half into the otherwise perfectly pleasant “English Breakfast”, we can hear guitarist Iver Armand Tandsether throwing in a few hot licks, pulling at the leash of sensitive indie pop. Suddenly he gets his moment, ripping it up for twenty seconds of uninhibited, Rush-worthy soloing. They set out a taste for these wild left turns in sprawling opener “Inzane,” which bounces from angular indie to symphonic synths to a blues break and a powerful fuzzed out coda.

It’s hard not to wish they shot for the moon a little more often on Pure Love, though this doesn’t always pay off. Besides being just a touch too twee, “Super Lazy Girl” feels like several disparate ideas stuck together, rather than a piece that evolves and mutates. There’s certainly something admirable about the approach, though: it’s much better to see a band throw out occasionally misfiring ideas than to play it safe.

The theme of personal and artistic maturation is exemplified on the title track which closes off Pure Love. After songs of regret, fear of intimacy, and wishing to be elsewhere, Mall Girl end with vulnerability and openness. “Forever simply feels too long / Might as well give it a go,” Forseth-Reichberg sings as the record rings out its final notes. It’s a fitting way to end an album so full of the joys of growth and discovery.