The highly anticipated eighth album by U.S. Girls, the nom de plume of North American multi-disciplinary and experimental pop artist Meg Remy, entitled Bless This Mess. A dynamic suite of dexterous melodies and a nuanced artistic response to the complexities of motherhood, Bless This Mess was crafted in tandem with the conception and birth of Remy’s twin boys. It expands the sonic and thematic palette of U.S. Girls, fusing the muses of funk, mythology, and the radical disorientation of joy into an electric tapestry of anthems, aches, and awakenings. As Remy’s body changed so did her voice; her diaphragm lost breathing room, adjusting to the growing lives inside. Many takes on Bless This Mess were tracked with the babies in utero, or in her arms. (She even samples her breast pump on the album’s poetic closing cut, “Pump”). The resulting performances are suffused by the physicality of this journey: more blood, more feelings, the interwoven wonders, and wounds of procreation. The ten songs on Bless This Mess were pieced together stem by stem with a vast cast of collaborators (Alex Frankel of Holy Ghost!, Marker Starling, Ryland Blackinton of Cobra Starship, Basia Bulat, Roger Manning Jr. of Jellyfish and Beck,) and audio engineers (Neal H Pogue, Ken Sluiter, Steve Chahley, Maximilian Turnbull). Long-time collaborator, husband, and co-parent Turnbull played a key role facilitating these fluid muses. The production throughout is exquisite, warm, and wood-panelled, framing the voice, keys, bass, and rhythms in heightened textural harmony.
A1 Only Daedalus
Backing Vocals – Dorothea Paas
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Alex Frankel
Written-By – Max Turnbull (2), Meg Remy
A2 Just Space For Light
Backing Vocals – Basia Bulat, Kritty Uranowski
Bass – Gio Rosati*
Percussion – Ed Squires
Producer, Arranged By – Geordie Gordon
Synth – Edwin de Goeij
Written-By – Badge Époque Ensemble, Max Turnbull (2)
A3 Screen Face
Bass – Gio Rosati*
Drums – Phil Melanson*
Featuring – Michael Rault
Producer, Written-By – Meg Remy
Producer, Written-By, Synth – Max Turnbull (2)
Written-By, Keyboards – Edwin de Goeij
A4 Futures Bet
Backing Vocals – Carlyn Bezic
Percussion – Ed Squires
Producer – Max Turnbull (2), Meg Remy
Producer, Arranged By – Geordie Gordon
Synth – Edwin de Goeij
A5 So Typically Now
Backing Vocals – Kyle Kidd
Co-producer – Ken Slater
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Alex Frankel, Ryland Blackinton
Written-By – Meg Remy
A6 Bless This Mess
Backing Vocals – Kass Richards*
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Edwin de Goeij, Max Turnbull (2), Meg Remy
Written-By – Basia Bulat
B1 Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo)
Backing Vocals – Geordie Gordon
Congas – Ed Squires
Guitar – Aaron Kaplan
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By, Backing Vocals – Roger Manning Jr.*
Written-By – Meg Remy
Written-By, Backing Vocals – Max Turnbull (2)
B2 R.I.P. Roy G. Biv
Bass – Gio Rosati*
Co-producer – Edwin de Goeij
Congas – Ed Squires
Featuring – Marker Starling
Producer, Arranged By – Max Turnbull
Producer, Written-By – Meg Remy
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Chris A. Cummings
B3 St. James Way
Bass – Gio Rosati*
Drums – Brad Kilpatrick
Percussion – Bailey Chahley, Ed Squires
Producer, Written-By – Meg Remy
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Rich Morel*
B4 Pump
Featuring – Alanna Stuart
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Edwin de Goeij, Max Turnbull (2), Meg Remy
