When you start a band in the bushland of Queensland, it could be considered a worthy achievement to play a gig anywhere besides the local RSL.
The jittery and eccentric four-piece Girl and Girl have managed to take it a few steps further.
Formed in 2020, the Gold Coast-based band have racked up a string of impressive milestones in their short career, notably signing to legendary record label Sub-Pop following buzz around their early EPs.
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In support of their brilliantly theatrical debut album Call A Doctor earlier this year, the band embarked on headline tours through the UK and Europe and gallivanted around America with Royel Otis – not bad for a band from the bush.
To top it off, when I join frontman Kai James over Zoom, Laneway’s 2025 lineup has just been announced, with Girl and Girl finding themselves sharing a bill with Charli XCX, Beabadoobee and Clairo.
“We weren’t even told the lineup until two hours before. My Instagram post completely revolved around Charli XCX and that was it!” laughs James.
James was jamming in the shed with guitarist and founding member Jaden Williams one day when they received a knock at the door. His aunty Melissa had dropped in to see how her nephew was going with his new band, before eventually getting behind the drum kit herself.
Initially intended as a temporary arrangement while the band searched for a more suitable replacement, four years on, Aunt Liss is still on the kit. While the endearing story has been the focal point of much of the press Girl and Girl has received, James is quick to note Aunt Liss is no gimmick.
“Whether she’s an auntie or a female drummer or whatever, the fact of the matter is that she’s just a fantastic drummer. She adds this incredibly unique ’90s flavour that isn’t really a part of my musical history and that I never would have sought out on my own.”
Call A Doctor follows a lifetime of James’ mental health struggles. Bold and uninhibited, the release elevated them into an international touring band, something they’re still getting used to.
“The first tour was incredibly intense for me emotionally,” says James. “Just learning to deal with living in such proximity. I’m a guy that needs space and really struggles to sleep in the same room as other people and all that sort of stuff. It was just this intense shock to the system and then the second tour was developing those tools and slowly it got better.”
Lyrically, themes of vulnerability, disdain and guilt weave through Girl and Girl’s songs. I ask James what it’s like to revisit such difficult moments in his life on stage each night.
“The first few times are the biggest shock, especially in particular settings. After we came back to Australia, we played the love songs off the album in front of particular people and that was probably my most intense moment,” he says with a wry smile. “But generally, the more you do it, the more it just becomes autopilot. It’s hard to insert yourself completely into it after 1000 times.”
Now gearing up for an Australian east-coast tour, the four-piece have returned with a new single The Cow, a manic number jam-packed full of tempo and James’ trademark self-deprecating lyrics.
“All my friends call me The Cow / Not really, but sometimes I think they should / because sometimes I let my cow brain speak louder than my cow heart,” he croaks over a frenetic guitar line. “It’s standalone. It kind of came out of the album recording session and we couldn’t fit it onto the record so we saved it for later.”
Although tired from a relentlessly busy year, their upcoming Australian tour proves an exciting prospect to James. “Girl and Girl is a live band. I feel like that’s where we kind of sell ourselves. Expect a lot of shaking and jumping and all sorts of stuff.”
James has already started hypothesising what the future could hold for Girl and Girl but isn’t willing to put a timeframe on any new project just yet.
“I try not to actively write music with a purpose but there’s definitely a vague guideline in the back of my head to not make another wallowing album. I’m writing it now, but I don’t know how long that takes and I don’t want to put a timer on it,” he says.
“Somebody will put a time limit on it soon, I’m sure… And so far, it’s not totally depressing!”
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