I was having this conversation with my brother.
He was like, In Chicago, its like youre traveling from airlock to airlock in the winter.
Its like youre in space or something.
Penelope Lowenstein, Gigi Reece, and Nora Cheng (from left)
The magic formula that Horsegirl unlocked as teenagers took effect fast.
It felt like we had to take up a lot of space, Reece says.
Can I bring gender into it?
Certainly, Reece replies.
It made me feel powerful.
People would look at us and be like, What?
And I love that feeling.
It sounds like a childrens recital.
But playing an instrument you dont know, you get that innocence that you cant fake.
All of our friends make zines, basically, they say.
Its a play on Everythings about my boyfriend, and my boyfriend knows everything, they explain.
All those jokes that you could ever think of.
Its funny, especially because Im a lesbian.
Reece is the oldest member of Horsegirl, and by far the chattiest.
(As Lowenstein puts it, Gigi is the life of the party.)
I was really insecure, recalls Reece, who was 16 at the time.
But they were like, We need a drummer.
Were going to put you behind the drum kit and were going to play our shit.
And you just do it.
Growing up, Reece had never quite felt like they fit in with the boys and girls around them.
Those feelings intensified as Horsegirl began playing shows around their hometown.
That was dysphoric for me, and it shook me deep to my core.
They credit their bandmates with helping them arrive at that clarity.
Penelope and Nora were so instrumental in me realizing that, Reece says.
Being a part of the band made me realize that I wasnt being true to myself wholly.
I was catching myself being like, I need to dress how Penelope and Nora dress.
Theyre so beautiful and their styles inspire me, but it is not who I am.
Though the three bandmates attended three different high schools, they spent every free moment they could together.
It was really just our weekend fun, Reece says, tucking into a Cubano sandwich.
It was how we hung out with each other, spending all weekend in Penelopes basement writing songs.
We were getting there, but we were teenagers.
How could we have?
So,My BoyfriendlovesPhonetics On and On.
They put up with this excruciating Sonic Youth-jot down shit coming from the basement at all times.
My mom shaved the side of my head for me when I was in fifth grade.
I was looking for friends who were freaks, and I did not find that, Lowenstein says.
I just want to be with them all the time and make music.
No one at school said anything no one gave a fuck, Lowenstein says with a laugh.
My parents were like, Hey, great job.
But it connected with fans like Pavements Bob Nastanovich, who featured it on his indie music podcast.
I just thought it was a super cool, obscure seven-inch, Nastanovich says.
Local press helped boost their profile further, including a pivotalChicago Tribunefeaturewritten by journalist Britt Julious.
That was our first interview, Lowenstein recalls.
I was so nervous.
The big line was like, Horsegirls going to have to break up after high school.
And then it blew up.
I was in disbelief, she says.
That was the label we had dreamt of since we formed.
Lowenstein stayed in Chicago to finish high school when Reece and Cheng both moved east for college in 2021.
It was such a strange year, because I was completely dependent on Gigi and Nora, she says.
I was like, who are my friends?
I needed to figure out who I was on my own.
When she followed Cheng to NYU in the fall of 2022, she found her taste in music shifting.
In high school, I was listening to the weirdest shit I could get my hands on.
Like, what about the classics?
Its important to cover that ground as a musician.
She keptBlonde on Blondein heavy rotation that first year, along with classic soul music by artists likeAl Green.
I was listening to it, thinking, Indie rockdoes not make me feel this way.
And so there was this tenderness to that session for me.
Songs like the bittersweet singleJulie(We have so many mistakes to make/What do you want from them?)
I meant it to be a sweet token of how I felt.
But I listen back and Im like, You were tormented.
In the end, they subtracted Lowensteins guitar and gave the song a mesmerizing new feel.
I felt so supported by them, and all I did was sing.
People sometimes see Nora as a hard nut to crack because she can be quieter, Lowenstein tells me.
But when you get to know her, shes hilarious.
Shes super weird in a way that I completely adore.
Actually, its a class I have with Penelope, she says, ordering a slice of lemon cake.
Literature of the British Isles, 1600 to 1800.
An only child, she developed a singular perspective on the world by her preteen years.
I thought highly of myself, in a pretentious sense, Cheng says.
Theres this famous Facebook post that my mom made of me.
I think I was in sixth grade.
We got into Sonic Youth very hard together, she says.
Daydream Nationwas the first record I ever bought with my own money.
The two guitarists distinct approaches to their instruments are a crucial ingredient in Horsegirls sound.
Penelope is a shredder, Cheng tells me, smiling like shes imparting a juicy secret.
But she loves to play theComfortably Numbsolo.
Shes known it since she was in middle school.
But I feel like I know who my friends that Ill have after college are at this point.
In a few months, Cheng will graduate.
After that, shes not sure what shell do.
I wouldnt want to do more school right now necessarily.
The plan is to move back to Chicago, Reece says in a definitive tone.
But … Im not sure, Reece adds.
I mean, New York, we do have a life here now.
I think its going to be harder to leave than we think it is.
Production Credits
Hair byDANIEL J, LUTZ.
Makeup byMAGDALENA MAJORAtSEE MANAGEMENTusingLAURA MERCIER.
Photographic assistance byBRYAN SARGENT.
Makeup assistance byCHELSEA RACHEL.
