Yogyakarta’s indie rock band Grrrl Gang are the best friends I wish I had when I was in high school. Not simply for their cool charisma, infectious positivity and their catchy-as-hell-but-so-laid-back tunes, but for their lyrical belief that we have the ability to find ourselves and to be our best selves.
Their debut, 5-track-strong EP comes 2 short years after they played their first show in 2016, where the young band admit that they had only had 3 songs under their belt.
Not Sad, Not Fulfilled is the result of the Indonesian band’s friendship and chemistry, and it serves as an upbeat journal of the joys and contradictions of modern life. “This EP is dedicated to confused youngsters, as well as adults who are still figuring things out”, says vocalist and guitarist Angee Sentana.
The cheery mood across the EP stretches across a myriad of anecdotes about the highs and lows of love and identity. At one moment, the band infatuates over finding ‘The One’ in the doo-wop driven “Love Song”. In another, bassist Akbar Rumandung takes the vocal helm to slow jam a pulsating ballad of mental distress in “Night Terrors”.
While Grrrl Gang’s members ironically consist of only one lead female, the group’s good vibes surprisingly finds a brash and brazen voice, expounded by the female strength and togetherness of Grrrls past and present. In tracks like “Pop Princess”, singer Angee Sentana implores with the energetic surf rock backing of her bandmates, that girls don’t need to settle with just being girlfriends. “Be aggressive / Stop being passive” the words shout, as Sentana’s sweet melody coaxes the song’s protagonist to find her better true self in the face of a destructive relationship.
Following this lyrical path is the EP’s standout track, “Guys Don’t Read Sylvia Plath”. Straddling a 90’s rock sound between Mazzy Star’s velvety atmosphere and L7’s steady punk attitude, the 2-minute track achieves so much in a short time. Honouring Plath’s seminal work The Bell Jar, the track abruptly questions the norm of socially acceptable female identity. The desire to forge a self-reliant self against the expectations of others, is an onus that Grrrl Gang take upon themselves as the lyrics declare, “I wasn’t born to be a mother / I was born to raise hell everywhere I go / I wasn’t born to be a wife / I was born to live a life of my own.” And perhaps it’s their personal or youthful optimism that brushes over the shitty and necessary experiences that their lyrical content entails (Plath died young and suffered greatly from mental illness and a cheating husband), but it’s impossible not to feel energised by Grrrl Gang’s spirited belief that we can all dig deep and discover ourselves. Through their EP, they remind us that feeling Not Sad, Not Fulfilled, means that there’s so much more to do too.
Grrrl Gang’s EP Not Sad, Not Fulfilled is out now through Kolibri Rekords. You can stream it on Spotify, and pay as you feel (generous, I’m sure) to buy their digital tracks on Bandcamp.