EP Walkthrough: yergurl introduces herself with debut EP, Love Bite

After being introduced last year as a finalist for triple j Unearthed's High competition, Bendigo-raised musician yergurl has had a lot to prove. While she didn't take out the competition, the time since her debut single Skateboard has been littered with highlights, from being introduced as an artist to watch as the year clicked over onto 2019, to this year's BIGSOUND Festival, where she welcomed a full live show complete with undeniable swagger and class that solidify her chances of blossoming into something special within the saturated Australian music scene.

However, if there's one thing from yergurl over the last year which shows her promise better than anything else, it's her debut EP - Love Bite. Arriving on Friday via Future Classic, the release is a five-track introduction to yergurl as a musician and as a person alike, from her gentle vocal sways and witty, humour-filled lyricism to the music she was listening to throughout her childhood, the latter represented through the EP's last track - a charming cover of Outkast favourite Hey Ya that spins the original into a synth-pop dream.

Elsewhere, Love Bite is an exploration of yergurl's many sounds as the facets it explores. Each track is different from one another to showcase a wide-ranging versatility that you often don't find in an artist's earlier projects, typically as they're attempting to solidify a distinct sound and vision. However, yergurl's sound and vision shines in other ways; the bridges that interconnect each track despite their wide range; her gentle vocal sway that oozes the confidence and assurance of someone twice her age; and the way that regardless of what sounds she attempts, you'd bet correctly that yergurl knocks it out of the park every time - her slick sheen incomparable to those within her field.

"I wanted love bite to showcase the many ways yergurl can sound," she says on the EP, touching on the release's versatility and range. "I feel like (unintentionally) each song is quite different from one another, however, each song represents a different side to me and my music creation process. I feel like the songs in love bite provide a well-rounded way to introduce myself as an artist and what the world can expect from me in the future."

Dive into the EP below, out now via Future Classic, with a track-by-track walkthrough from yergurl herself, who dissects the EP's themes and creation one track at a time.

Girls Like Me

[I] was walking through the schoolyard on a cloudy afternoon when the chorus melody popped in my mind! I recorded in into voice memos (yes, in public) and then made the beat as soon as I got home! The lyrics are about an ex of mine who happens to date the same kind of blonde, skinny, mentally unstable girls. Despite this pattern, no bitch will compare to me… I am a rare unit.

boys think u look PHRESH!

This is the first (and currently only) diss track I’ve written. It’s definitely about a certain girl I cannot stand. However, this song is also a diss aimed at myself, my crackhead energy, and also the pretentious edgy teen culture I was surrounded by at the time. To summarise, that girl is lame, I am lame, and we’re all so goddamn lame. Whenever I play this song live I ask the audience to think about someone they hate… and hope they get in a non-fatal-yet-guaranteed-disfiguring car crash.

skateboard

I wrote this song when I had just started dating my boyfriend and things were still new and fragile. I was becoming more and more certain that things would end up with a similar fate to my other pathetic high school relationships. “What can you expect when you’re a teen?” I don’t know, a decently shitty, empty relationship that still leaves you traumatized when it’s over, I guess. Turns out, as always, I was wrong and we’re still together now!

ICED OUT GRILLZ

Picture this, I had just moved to my new house in Melbourne. I was shopping online for a new ski suit (which I did purchase) and then suddenly, after months of writer’s block… I hear a fricken tune. So I ran to my laptop and laid it all out. The instrumental became way edgier than expected, but that’s what I loved! I didn’t think this “beat” would go anywhere for days and I had no faith in coming up with lyrics, but one night I was in bed and listening to the instrumental for fun when the story came to mind! This is one of the only songs I’ve written which isn’t based on a true story, but it is based on a true fantasy in my head!

Hey Ya

I never, EVER planned on doing a cover of this song, mostly because it’s been done SO many times and I really ache to contribute something MEANINGFUL to the huge catalogue of music out there, but I heard Tones and I’s cover of it and it inspired me to cover the song… for fun. I had no intention of having it heard by no bitch but I ended up really liking it and liking it enough to chuck it on this EP!

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