The uncompromising bind between Girlpool's Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad does more than just tether two guitars on "Ideal World", a single from their upcoming debut, Before the World Was Big. Their stringent vocal harmonies demand you pay attention to the words: "Put me on a food stamp and a Hallmark card/ Tranquilize me with your ideal world." The lyrics boil down biting truths about the "real" world to the glaring key of D.-=-=-=-

The Philly duo continues to rely on strum patterns to create rhythm and tension in their songs. "Ideal World" is shaped by the careful back-and-forth between Tucker and Tividad's guitars that feels like the steady march of a wind-up toy. This familiar kind of tick-tock recalls bands like the Breeders circa Pod or the Velvet Underground; the last few seconds of "Ideal World" hemorrhage into a screeching noise riff straight out of "Venus in Furs". Smooth and hypnotic as an actual tranquilizer, "Ideal World" shows a darker side to Girlpool, one that is perhaps more contemplative than caustic. The track leaves us with one last exacting cut: "I was taught what to believe/ Now I’m only certain that no one is free."