Girls Names
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2009 in Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Founder | Cathal Cully, Neil Brogan |
| Defunct | 2019-01-31 |
| Headquarters | Belfast , Northern Ireland |
| Products | Music albums, EPs, singles |
Girls Names originated in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2009, founded by Cathal Cully and Neil Brogan. Prior to their split in 2019, the band produced four full-length albums—Dead To Me, The New Life, Arms Around a Vision, and Stains on Silence—in addition to numerous EPs, singles, and collaborative singles.
History
Cathal Cully and Neil Brogan first connected in 2008. In January 2009, despite no previous experience playing in a band, Cully agreed to form one to open for the American surf pop group Wavves at a Belfast gig. Brogan took on the role of drummer, learning the instrument specifically for this event. Early releases included cassette-only demos issued through Cass/Flick Records (later CF Records), a label established by Brogan in 2006. By June 2009, after recording a demo of "Cold Hands, Warm Heart," they reached out to Brooklyn-based indie label Captured Tracks. Mike Sniper, the label’s founder, expressed interest contingent on receiving additional material. By November that year, the band presented eleven songs, culminating in the release of the Girls Names EP in April 2010. Before this EP came out, Claire Miskimmin joined as bassist after Cully taught her how to play.
In April 2010, Girls Names issued a split single alongside San Diego’s Heavy Hawaii, followed by the mini-album You Should Know By Now in May through UK independent label Tough Love, which compiled earlier recordings. From June to October 2010, the trio recorded their debut album at Belfast’s Start Together Studios. The song "I Lose" was featured on a split 7-inch with Brilliant Colors released in November 2010 by Slumberland Records (US) and Tough Love (Europe). Their first full album, Dead To Me, was released through these labels in April 2011 and received generally positive reviews, earning a Metacritic score of 75%. By that point, the group had already begun working on new material and had evolved their sound. In October 2011, they released the digital-only single "Black Saturday."
In early 2012, Philip Quinn joined as guitarist and keyboardist while also playing with Charles Hurts; his live debut with Girls Names occurred at Belfast’s Mandela Hall in March. By this time, their live performances predominantly featured new compositions rather than tracks from Dead To Me. July 2012 saw the release of "A Troubled See" on a split 7-inch with London’s Weird Dreams. The single "The New Life," released in October, preceded their second album of the same name. This record marked a stylistic transition toward krautrock and motorik rhythms with extended track lengths. The follow-up single "Hypnotic Regression" was made available digitally in December. The album officially launched on 18 February 2013.
Prior to embarking on a European tour supporting The New Life, Brogan took a temporary hiatus and was replaced by Gib Cassidy from Dublin’s Logikparty. Brogan subsequently confirmed his permanent exit from the band in July 2013. Cassidy then became a full-time member for their third album, Arms Around A Vision, which was released on 2 October 2015 along with an accompanying tour; Cassidy departed just over a year later.
On 29 March 2018, the band announced their upcoming album titled Stains on Silence.
Girls Names officially disbanded on 31 January 2019. Frontman Cathal Cully shared his thoughts on Instagram: "After a whole decade we've decided to call time on the band... ten years is a long time to be neither here nor there."
Side projects
Brogan serves as the guitarist and lead vocalist for Sea Pinks, with Cully and Miskimmin regularly contributing on bass and drums between 2010 and 2012. Subsequently, members of Charles Hurts have provided live support for the band. Sea Pinks has produced seven studio albums: Youth Is Wasted (2010), Dead Seas (2011), Freak Waves (2012), Dreaming Tracks (2014), Soft Days (2016), Watercourse (2017), and Rockpool Blue (2018). Brogan characterizes Sea Pinks’ musical style as a brighter, more minimalistic progression from the sound of Girls Names. In addition, he manages CF Records, an indie label based in Belfast formerly known as Cass/Flick and Caff/Flick, which was instrumental in launching Girls Names and has released music by Cloud Nothings, Mount Eerie, High Places, Lucky Dragons, Thread Pulls, No Monster Club, and Patrick Kelleher.
Within Cruising, Miskimmin and Brogan switch between bass and guitar roles, accompanied by Grimes on drums and Benni Johnson of Logikparty providing vocals. Their discography includes a cassette single released through Soft Power Records and a vinyl EP distributed by Tough Love Records.
Philip Quinn’s solo venture Gross Net explores industrial and electronic genres following Christian Donaghey’s exit in 2015. Their initial release appeared in 2014 via Art For Blind Records; the debut album Quantitative Easing was issued by Touch Sensitive Records in 2016, followed by Gross Net Means Gross Net, which came out on Los Angeles-based Felte Records in August 2019. Quinn is also active in Charles Hurts, a project that began as a solo act before expanding to include Steven Henry on bass and Davey Agnew on drums. Charles Hurts has put out two EPs under CF Records.
Cathal Cully occasionally partners with Documenta, a Belfast-based psychedelic drone pop group fronted by Joe Greene.
Currently, Miskimmin plays bass in New Pagans, an alternative rock ensemble awarded Best Live Act at the Northern Ireland Music Prize in 2020. Their first full-length album, The Seed, The Vessel, The Roots and All, was released in 2021.
Albums
- You Should Know By Now (Tough Love/Slumberland Records, May 2010)
- Dead to Me (Tough Love/Slumberland Records, April 2011)
- The New Life (Tough Love/Slumberland Records, February 2013)
- Arms Around a Vision (Tough Love, October 2015)
- Stains on Silence (Tough Love, June 2018)
EPs
- C1001/02 (double cassette EP, CF Records, September 2009) – limited edition of 25 copies
- Girls Names EP (12-inch/download, Captured Tracks, April 2010)
- You Should Know By Now (12-inch/download, Tough Love, May 2010) – restricted to 200 copies
- The Next Life (12-inch/download, Tough Love/Slumberland Records, October 2013) – available in limited white vinyl (US), clear vinyl (UK), and black vinyl formats
- Zero Triptych (12-inch/download, Tough Love, May 2015)
Singles
- "Black Saturday" (download only, Tough Love/Slumberland Records, October 2011)
- "The New Life" (12-inch white vinyl/download, Tough Love/Slumberland Records, November 2012) – limited to 300 copies
- "Hypnotic Regression" (download only, Tough Love/Slumberland Records, December 2012)
Split singles
- Split (CF Records, May 2010) – limited edition split cassette featuring Heavy Hawaii, restricted to 100 units
- I Lose / You Win (Tough Love/Slumberland Records, November 2010) – split 7-inch vinyl with Brilliant Colors, capped at 600 copies
- A Troubled See / House of Secrets (Tough Love/Slumberland Records, July 2012) – blue and purple vinyl split 7-inch with Weird Dreams, limited to 300 editions