U.S. Girls Essentials

The nom de pop of Illinois-born, Toronto-based artist Meg Remy, U.S. Girls has gradually evolved from knob-twisting avant-beat scientist into spotlight-seizing disco provocateur. You can hear the seeds of that transformation take root on 2011's “Islands,” where Remy's radiant voice cuts through the frosty electronics with soulful gusto. But as she's stepped out of the shadows, her subversive spirit has become even more apparent, whether she's using the seductive dub-funk of “Damn That Valley” to deliver a raging anti-war invective or condemning Obama's drone-strike record with the glitter-ball-twirling pop of “Mad as Hell.”