Church Girls formed in 2014 as singer-songwriter Mariel Beaumont’s way to fill the creative void in her fashion career. Drawing from her punk roots attending dingy basement shows as a teen, she began writing and playing open mics around Philadelphia. An encounter with high school friend and guitarist Robert Dwyer led the two to begin collaborating and playing local and regional shows with a rotating cast of band members...

Hidalgo is the follow up to Church Girls 2016 debut Thousand Lives. The LP opens well with the upbeat, bouncy 'Better Off' before melting into the punky tones and fuzzy guitar riffs of 'Glass'. Other highlights include 'Breaking Bones'; and 'Rather Forget'.

The album contains 11 songs (39 min, 05 sec) and while it's by no means an essential purchase, there are enough punky, rocking tunes here to make it worth at least checking out. It's an album I've been getting quite a lot of play out of and I'm sure it's one I'll revisit in the future.

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Nick Smithson