ISHMAEL N. DARO
Arts Writer

The Girls Can Hear Us are not shy about partying. Their lyrics don’t allow them such modesty.

“I feel like doing some drugs tonight,” says vocalist Will Steep in one song, “I feel like doing it up tonight. I feel like taking you out and I feel like laying you down, all right?”

Sex and drugs are present but is it rock ‘n’ roll? Perhaps in attitude but musically TGCHU is a mix of bass-heavy electronica with Steep’s lyrical debauchery layered overtop.

“I actually think promiscuity is a valid and moral lifestyle choice if you do it honestly,” said Steep. “I’m not embarrassed that we’re having too much fun. I’m not embarrassed that I’ve been promiscuous.”

This embrace of hedonism is what makes TGCHU so profoundly fun to listen to. Shakespeare it ain’t. But the music is so unselfconscious about having a good time that you can’t help but be drawn in.

A TGCHU song typically starts with Edmond Huszar producing some catchy beats and sending them over to Steep, who then writes the appropriate party anthem to go with it. In the song “Drugs, Dancin’,” Steep implores us to “break your neck to the beat!” while the title of another song is simply “Fuck to This.”

You get the idea. These guys party hard and their music is best suited for a club or party setting. Yet despite the confidence with which the duo presents itself, TGCHU has only been around since 2009 when Huszar and Steep attended the same school in London, Ont. One fateful bus ride to campus allowed them to strike up a conversation and within weeks they were making music together.

Since then, TGCHU have grown their fanbase rather quickly, mostly by giving their tunes away for free. Influential music blogs like Indie Shuffle and deathelectro.com have praised their music and several TGCHU songs have appeared on the “popular” page of Hype Machine, an online music aggregator.

“We give away three times as many songs as we try to sell,” said Steep, adding that touring and merchandise are bigger money-makers anyway. “Just the fact that people want to hear it, in a lot of cases, is enough to make me happy.”

Their debut album Every Day came out in April and Steep says the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, far exceeding his hopes.

“The feedback has been phenomenal,” he said. “Given the fact that really all we did was tweet about it and throw it on our Facebook page, it’s been incredible. I figured we’d make a few hundred bucks and we’ve done much better than that.”

Apparently, this strategy has worked. The Girls Can Hear Us now has fans around the world. On a recent trip to the Dominican Republic, they even shut down a shopping mall and converted it into a two-floor club for the night. A tour of France and Germany is in the works as well.

The duo will stroll through Saskatoon Sept. 18 to play Louis’ — as far west as Steep has ever been in Canada.

“I may have played a basketball tournament in Sault Ste. Marie in high school,” said Steep with a laugh. “That would probably be the furthest west I have been so I’m excited to get out to Saskatoon.”

“Sample Tracks” Free Sample Album by The Girls Can Hear Us!