Album
Product Description
Built on the powerful songwriting of Christopher Owens and the ethereal production of Chet “JR” White, Girls recorded Album in a variety of bedrooms and rehearsal studios in their adopted hometown, San Francisco. The resulting 12 tracks are the perfect San Fran summer record, evoking a narcotic, sunny afternoon in Dolores Park, yet promising the eventual hangover of summer’s departure. Album is self-described as “honest, loose, ethereal, obnoxious and perfect,” it i… More >>
Comments (5)
carlos matsuo
January 30th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
‘Reach out and touch me / I’m right here’ sings openly-sexual Christopher Owens in “Laura”. In 1985 the best means we had to “reach out and touch someone” was the telephone. For all the advances in communications since then – cellular phones, the internet, instant messaging, email, chat rooms, social networking sites – we now feel more isolated.
This is a call to every teen left in this decade to just ‘Reach out and touch someone’, something we’re in very desperate need of.
The very name of the band. Which made me think it was gonna be a group of, well, girls; had me surprised when it wasn’t. And that’s part of the game they’re playing here, a gender confusion so particular of the second half of the past century, a time mostly called contemportary -or post-modernist.
On another note, the singer is not even trying to sound good. It’s like they’re saying: That’s it, take it or leave it. Yes, we’re a sexually ambiguous group. And we don’t care if you mind.
Well, take it or leave it.
Rating: 4 / 5
John Wraith
January 31st, 2010 at 1:04 am
I don’t know, I just don’t get the popularity surrounding this record. It just seems like a generic band to me. One of the guys can sing pretty well, but the other is too whiny for my personal taste, and despite plenty of really cool moments, the music does nothing to stand out. And lyrically, it’s overly earnest, like the songwriting takes itself far too seriously, aiming for bar-band Kerouac or something, when the writers are not up to the challenge of moving past cliches dripping in sincerity.
I like the musical vibe around it, and I’ve got no problem with sincerity, but it all seems so hip — just see the videos for these songs, with arty, good-looking hipsters running around in interesting places wearing trendy clothes — that the earnestness of it comes across as off-putting to me.
There are plenty of cool moments on this album, don’t get me wrong, but I feel that the Drums’ _Summertime!_ EP does a much better job of capturing the same vibe — California, late 50s/early 60s, earnestness, youth, golden summer, etc., albeit from a slightly more European/C86 sound.
To me, the Girls are trying to channel 50s rock, but they leave out the keys ingredients: rocking (not a whole lot you can really dance to here), sex (these songs are about relationships, but they’re maudlin teenager lyrics instead of sex-crazed teenager lyrics), and a sense of humor (again, the protagonists of these songs take their plights so damn seriously). Just one man’s opinion, though, and maybe if you’re young and into being hip and have hip friends who do interesting, fun-loving, carefree things and like to talk about their hip relationships, then I can totally see why you’d really like _Album_. But for me, as someone who lives in California, this just seems like an iPod-commercial version of California. Cool backstory that the main dude in this band has, though, so maybe that understandably adds to Girls’ popularity.
Rating: 3 / 5
Paul Allaer
January 31st, 2010 at 3:52 am
Indie-band Girls, consisting of 2 guys now based in San Francisco, has pretty much come out of nowhere (for me anyway) with this album, their debut. Musically they are hard to pinpoint but think of it as their verson of California sunshine pop with a twist–or two (acoustic Beck meets the Beach Boys).
“Album” (12 tracks; 44 min.) starts off with a teasingly short but brilliant “Lust For Life” (no, not a cover of the Iggy Pop tune), followed by a luscious ode to “Laura” and a dreamy “Ghost Mouth”, wow, what a way to start off the album. “Hellhole Ratrace”, which concludes the first half the album, is the most revelatory track on the album: a 7 min. epic, acoustic tune, sad but beautiful. Wow, I rate the first half of the album 4.5 stars. The second half kicks off with the promising “Headache”, which is followed by the last true highlight of the album, “Summertime” (and the title of the song says it all). “Lauren Marie” brings a wall of underlying guitar-reverb to a gentle tune, quite good. But towards the end the album starts to falter a bit and loses direction. I rate the second half of the album 3.5 stars.
In all, “Album” is an excellent debut, and I can’t wait to hear more from these guys. Meanwhile, I hope to catch them in concert sometime (are you reading this, Coachella organizers?). Finally, if you wonder where you can hear these guys, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country, bar none (and where I found out about Girls).
Rating: 4 / 5
Benjamin Musburger
January 31st, 2010 at 6:16 am
The debut album, “Album,” by Girls contains three essential songs that amplify the entire piece. “Lust for Life,” “Laura,” and “Hellhole Ratrace” are spectacular songs that are polished, yet emotionally raw. There are some other decent highs on the album, but these tracks are definitely cream of the crop. I can definitely hear some Elvis Costello influence in Girls.
Rating: 4 / 5
Charlie Quaker
January 31st, 2010 at 7:40 am
San Francisco debut of gorgeously addictive, sublime relationship angst pop, couched in
stunning summery melodies. Lo-fi, indie psychedelic pop twang with a druggy, ethereal feel that
sucks you in like the good time you just can’t turn down. Allusions to Beach Boys, Phil Spector,
Jesus & Mary Chain, Stratford 4, Beaujolais, Spiritualized.
Rating: 5 / 5
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