Chorusgirl

Chorusgirl fuses the raucous, melodic textures of earlier dream pop outfits such as Ride and Lush with those of later acts including Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls. Their uncomplicated songwriting and arrangements keep the focus squarely on the lyrics and voice of Silvi Wersing. The German-born musician started the project after moving to London and went on to issue two albums of lean, emotionally charged material in the second half of the 2010s.

Wersing developed her musicianship by playing bass and guitar in successive bands, first across Germany and then in England, before launching Chorusgirl as a solo venture in 2012. She cut initial demos, both alone and with producer Jan Niklas Jansen, at Bear Cave Studio in Cologne. Once sufficient songs existed for live performance, she assembled a band. Bassist Udo Westhoff, another German, joined alongside drummer Michael Boyle and guitarist Caroline Arvensis in early 2014; Arvensis soon departed and Diogo Oliveira took over on guitar. The group issued its first single in early 2015—“No Moon”/“Dream on, Baby Blue,” part of Odd Box’s 100 Club series—and played Indietracks before releasing the self-titled debut album on Fortuna POP! later that year.

Over the following two years the lineup shifted again when Oliveira left and Faith Taylor of Suggested Friends stepped in on guitar. The label folded, Brexit raised concerns for the German members, and Wersing’s anxiety made work on the second album especially difficult. The band persisted, returning to Jansen in Cologne to shape a more reflective, minimal set that included two songs written by Taylor. They signed with Reckless Yes and released Shimmer and Spin in late 2018.