There weren’t many albums I was really truly obsessed with in 2012; really, there were just two. The first, obviously, was Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel. And the second one was Girls Underground, the debut LP by a Bay Area band called Eight Belles. Fronted by the mesmerizing Jessi Phillips, Eight Belles play a darkly haunting yet melodic brand of Americana highlighted by Phillips’ pristine, soaring vocals. Comparisons could be drawn to Mindy Smith, Jolie Holland, or Blacklisted-era Neko Case, but Phillips and Eight Belles are gradually carving a spot on the Bay Area musical landscape that is entirely their own.
The video above is their first official music video, for the opening track of Girls Underground, “Buried Child.” From The Bay Bridged:
The video, which was directed by former Bay Area resident Christine Hucal, was extra special for singer Jessi Phillips, as it was filmed mostly on her family farm near Kalamazoo, MI. Phillips tells me the video “includes the horse I’ve owned since I was 13, and shots of the abandoned church I used to smoke cigarettes in when I was 14.” […] Like the song, the video is beautiful with a bit of a dark side, and Phillips said the song actually “takes place” on the farm where the video was shot. “I sort of picture my mom on that very porch with a gun and a cigarette, wearing a nightgown, ready to sock it to some cad who’s wronged me.”
Eight Belles, who are currently working on their sophomore LP, will be playing a video premiere show at Amnesia tonight at 9pm. I highly recommend attending. In the meantime, check out Girls Underground on Spotify or iTunes, and keep up with EIght Belles on Facebook.
