GIRLI

North London newcomer GIRLI, born Milly Toomey, launched her solo project in 2014 by blending pop, electronic textures, and punk energy into an unruly whole. While still attending high school she had played in the indie rock group Ask Martin, yet once her fellow members headed for university she deliberately avoided a conventional route. Taking her stage name from a Blondie reference, she cultivated a striking visual style that fused cyberpunk elements with J-Pop influences. Striking out alone, she played every local open-mike night she could, eventually drawing notice from BBC Radio 1. Her sound merged the forward-looking pop approach of Charli XCX, the impudence of Lily Allen, the defiance of M.I.A., and the boundary-crossing instincts of Grimes. The 2015 debut single paired “So You Think You Can Fuck with Me” with “ASBOys,” and “Girls Get Angry Too” appeared the following year. Across her material she addressed gender, social expectations, detractors, troublesome boys, and spiteful girls, channeling an assertive form of girl power that echoed the Spice Girls.