GIRLS - ALBUM

i'd be super surprised if this thread doesn't exist, but it's a tough one to search for.

anyway, this album is amazing and obviously gonna be huge. thoughts?

Er, not much to post really, but saw them do the album release show at Amoeba on Tuesday. Also for how much they've kinda seemed like the main big thing in SF for awhile now, I'm surprised that few people I know outside of the city have heard of them.
And yeah, the album is supposed to get big isn't it?

i'm on the fence with this one. on the one hand i find the guy's voice a bit obnoxious but on the other hand i really enjoy the lyrics for their twee/naïve perspective on things

i mean honestly, who doesn't want a pizza and a bottle of wine?

i was actually quite turned off by some of the lyrics at first because of the tweeness, but when it comes down to it i appreciate the honesty. it's heartfelt, and he's a great songwriter. here's an awesome interview, btw:

http://www.faqmagazine.org/ChristopherGirls.htm

dude has a crazy backstory...cults, drugs, etc.

some videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuoTjYYqe4c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcqwfFKagH4

Just can't get past the dude's freaking VOICE.

They seem to bear out my meme that any band with the word "girl" or "girls" in their name who do not have any actual *girls* in the band = invariably shite.

that was a meme?

lol

dig this

after a few listens his voice has really grown on me. I'm liking this.

that interview is just..

that interview explains a lot about why his music sounds the way it does...

really enjoying this. there are a couple of songs where the voice gets a little grating, but he really is a great songwriter and that interview only makes me appreciate it more.

lust for life is one of the best songs of the year imo

worth nothing that he played in holy shit with ariel pink and matt fishbeck.

i like this album, his personality really comes through in the songs & they're all pretty good songs.

this sounds very good. finally some fucking dynamic range!

Those videos are annoying we're-young-beautiful-and-invincible type videos. Totally rub me the wrong way.

But I like this guy and I wanna hear his album so I'm gonna buy it, stupid SF advertisement vids or not.

i listened to the first half of the album last night, and at one point i was like "hey they changed the lyrics to hellhole ratrace, that's weird" but then i checked it out and it's just a different song with the exact same melody and chord progression. fine album, though, but imo not worthy of all the hype it will invariable get.

i think the song is called "ghost mouth" or maybe the one after that...

or already has got, i guess: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13477-album/

ppl really want to listen to this guy whine over "classic pop" chord changes?

^^^^^^^
My question exactly. This band has one good song ("Solitude") that they didn't even put on the album. Sooooo boring.

"lust for life" is just ridiculously great i think but man a lot of this really doesn't hit me. the longer songs with the exception of "hellhole ratrace" sound like they totally meander to me ("laura", "lauren marie" etc) but i like some of the shorter songs okay ("big bad mean motherfucker" is dope). i like these guys based on what i've read about them, but i just don't see how someone could think that this was more than just kinda good.

like, i appreciate the production and they really hit that about right on the mark, just don't think that the songs are there

i think it's interesting that the front dude is obsessed with the beyonce song "halo" (believe this was in the fader) because his songs-- like ryan tedder's-- are really simple and direct, i could totally see him being taken with the lyric "baby you're my halo/ you're my saving grace". i hate the beyonce song but i think it's kinda sweet & endearing

i do agree the production is excellent, but like--i read the interview upthread and he seems like a really interesting dude with a lot of stories to tell, and he just comes up with the most trite, dull, dreadful lyrics i can think of. if he could say something more interesting or if he could do something more musically than just rip off early pop, i could live with the voice. as it is i just don't really think he has anything special.

"solitude" is actually their one song i can't take. way too much bright eyes emo going on.

I like the production (it sounds full, and with some separation and contrast, instead of the solid-wall-of-sound you sometimes get) and the doo-wop touches. And I think I like the songs, too. The lyrics certainly don't strike me as profound, and I'm not sure how much of the lead singer's compelling backstory is factoring into my assessment. I imagine it's going to be hard for many people to separate the backstory from the music, in this case.

I heard Hellhole Ratrace when it was on an eMusic compilation early this year. I still think it takes too long to get going, but it's okay when it finally begins to rumble and move.

i dont think the lyrics are supposed to strike u as profound. just a chill bro singin about life man

Would I like this?

i'm not asking for profundity just someone who sounds a little less pathetic

i like that its just a dude makin genuine music about his life n stuff. not really too much to it. imho the hype for artists like xx for example is a lil weirder, cuz like they get points just for having this different style of production that doesnt per se result in better songwriting or whatever.

maybe this is totally in nabisco's thing of being mainstream indie but if this is what mainstream indie is im on board with that, just dude writin songs with memorable lyrics ... i made that 'i just want a pizza and a bottle of wine' my facebook status the other day & it got tons of responses & "x likes this" from people, its just evocatively underwritten & perfect that way

i dunno i think its a pretty sweet record

i've heard the pizza/wine line a couple times but does he have many more lines like that? laura and lauren marie are kinda unlistenable because they seem to be written entirely in cliches.

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7172/strafecominfromanotherp.jpg

i think both deej and cad are right - "lust for life" is a brilliantly written song both for the almost unanimously universal "pizza and a bottle of wine" lyric and the real crushing stuff like "i wish i had a father". but i agree with cad that some of the lyrics are kind of bad and cross the line from "expertly universal and applicable" to "underwritten trite cliche". i don't think that tom did any favors in his pfork review by citing for instance this lyric "'You've been a bitch, I've been an ass/ I don't wanna point the finger; I just know I don't like this, I don't wanna do this.'"

it's not a coincident i guess then that i think "hellohole ratrace" is their second best song because the chorus is amazing

and i dont want to cry my whole life through,
i want to do some laughing too.
so come on, come on, come on, come on, laugh with me.
and i dont want to die without shaking up a thing or two,
yeah, i want to do some dancing too.
so come on, come on, come on, come on, dance with me.

but on the other hand he kind of falls into the thing he does up there with the "bitch" & "ass" line where he takes a very elementary approach to analyzing opposites and thus conflict

this stanza from "hellhole ratrace" is a good example of where it's bad

sometimes youve just gotta make it for yourself.
sometimes sugar, it just takes someone else.
sometimes youve just gotta make it for yourself.
sometimes baby, you just need someone else.

he's basically at points one step away from singing "i was dark as night/ you were bright as day"

Not unanimously universal. I don't ever want a bottle of wine. I'm not always craving pizza.

ha yeah, "lust for life" is one of those songs that i really wish i had written but i don't drink wine so i've been trying to come up with a different lyric but i can't really think of one

That guy's lyrics are kind of dumb and sometimes smart and maybe teetering between being intentionally ironic/reflexive and inadvertently ironic/reflexive—or kind of dumb and kind of smart and kind of ironic like 99.9% of all good pop music. On a good day I would ignore that! On a bad day I would just listen to Bach or something. Pop music is this numbers game, particularly since our culture since the Beatles has expected certain kinds of singers to write their own songs for the sake of authenticity, and then all of the singers eat this up and write their own crummy songs.

this is boring

as far as "jus' a dude writin' some songs" albums go, i like it. i'd rather the lyrics try to be simple and relatable and sometimes succeed than try to be complex and profound and sometimes succeed

Man I plugged my speakers in and listened to those youtube videos and my leg hairs stood up. Why are people complaining about his voice like he's John Frusciante or somebody?

He's doing the singer-as-actor thing and I think he's knowingly playing "himself," both in performance and in the writing stage.

otm

i dunno, i think that contrast is pretty awesome. like deej said, he's just a chill bro talking about whats going on in his life. sometimes it's pretty profound and other times it's a little simple. but always he sounds genuine and i really feel like i know the guy; especially since he gives such a free and uninhibited interview. i guess i'm just pleased to hear something that seems spontaneous and honest, even if it is in fact laboured over.
xxxxxxpost

something that seems spontaneous and honest, even if it is in fact laboured over.

Some of the best art ever?

not really interested in honesty/authenticity, myself. or "chill bros", which sounds like a horrifying jamband descriptor.

I dunno maybe the rest of the album is better. But people are saying Lust for Life is the best thing on there...? sounds like any number of 90s janglepop songs to me

What I hear is alright but I think this thing is getting selling points for the back story the same way Bon Iver did (The whole cabin thing). Marketing is fun.

I'm not gonna cast aspersions on why other people like things, but from a press angle ... yeah his backstory explains the press.

as noted videos are pointless "oh we are young and beautiful and CRAZY!" silliness, would be nice if there were some actual ideas involved.

I just get riled up over this kind of lifestyle porn. They're not too different from teeth-whitening commercials, just more aestheticized.

I think it is the seeming honest, not honesty. Honesty and truth do not necessarily belong in art.

i mean to be fair, his backstory is pretty interesting and really informs the music, and it's esp notable at this point in 2009 when bigwig indie bands are private university fuckos like grizzly bear, dirty projectors, vampire weekend etc

I just get riled up over this kind of lifestyle porn. They're not too different from teeth-whitening commercials, just more aestheticized.

videos look like beer or VW commercials

for real
xpost

i like vw & dp better far, far better than girls but i understand why his backstory has some hype behind it (also it's not like true panther is throwing around its weight and compelling spin to do a feature on his wild & crazy life - not exactly like they're signed to matador or something)

it's esp notable at this point in 2009 when bigwig indie bands are private university fuckos

some understandable class hatred in this post, but it does beg the question of how big a diff there is between "private university fuckos" and a fuckup bankrolled by an adoptive millionaire...? if that's the kind of thing that bothers you?

I couldn't care less about backstories, in general.

it's too bad the OC isn't around anymore - would be cool to see a really heartfelt end of episode IS THE RELATIONSHIP OVER?? montage showing the contemplative faces of summer & set while "laura" plays

Really just like the two songs above at this point.

I appreciate Longstreth being a private university fucko and don't really consider him a fucko. Am very glad that he got to study music at Harvard or wherever.

I'm not saying the backstory is making people like it, but it is really getting people interested. Marketing doesn't create needs- the backstory is a huge selling point.
Also the style, voice, and lyrics all seem very "targeted" to hipsters whether intentional or not.

And bamcquern, how do you say what belongs in art?

some understandable class hatred in this post, but it does beg the question of how big a diff there is between "private university fuckos" and a fuckup bankrolled by an adoptive millionaire...? if that's the kind of thing that bothers you?

i was being unnecessarily vindictive with my wording here (i don't want to set off private industry fuckos like nabisco) (mostly i just like the word fuckos) (also my family pays my rent while i'm in school so it's not like i'm Joe Hardhat over here), mostly i'm just saying that i understand why other people who may resent the prim & properness of the upbringing of bands like vampire weekend & grizzly bear may be taken by this guy's backstory and also why it's getting some major press

xpost How do I say?

I think it's just serendipity, Evan. I don't think there's any targeting involved.

with or without quotes

Yeah. How can you? There aren't rules.

i mean, this is a pretty good example of the EFFECT OF BLOG CULTURE - i mean surely this guy's backstory is generally not that different from what indie used to be like (a bit more drastic sure but the going out alone as a 16 year old type deal) but when you look at music in a 12 month (or shorter) microscope like blogs do & magazines have been forced to do a guy like this girls dude is sure to stand out against those bands that i mentioned

jordan thanks for doing the lyrical analysis i could not when lala would only give me 30 second samples after my one listen.

question for yall: what other bands/artists feature chill bros talking abt their lives? is this a thing i'm just not aware of? i'm a little disarmed by the praise for his lyrical directness cause i guess i assume that ppl, in general, prefer something with a little more poetry to it?

I put targeted in quotes to emphasize that it almost seems so but isn't.

I just say it with my mouth or type it or write it down. There aren't rules.

And I'm not being absolutist. I'm just shootin shit with all you people.

Haha smart-ass!

what other bands/artists feature chill bros talking abt their lives? is this a thing i'm just not aware of?

its called "shitty songwriting" and there's an awful lot of it

free energy is a dope band that features chill bros talking abt their lives - i think all friends of "lyrical directness" should listen to them (i do)

Honestly, call all destroyer, I'd prefer every songwriter to be a Mercer or Porter or even Leonard Cohen or something, but it's usually an x-factor that sells me on some dumb pop group. If I can maintain the illusion for myself I do because pop music is cheaply affecting and I like being cheaply affected.

ha, all FANS of "lyrical directness", but also sympathizers

GIRLS: The Avril Lavigne of Indie Rock? More at eleven...

bam dude i don't even really know what that means.

You don't have your decoder ring?

How are you gonna participate in ilx?

so i'm listening to these free energy dudes and i'm wondering if it's a lot easier to write an exuberant and literal pop song than a downer and literal pop song. like i said before my thing with girls is that the guy too frequently sounds PATHETIC.

Also the style, voice, and lyrics all seem very "targeted" to hipsters whether intentional or not.

― Evan, Friday, September 25, 2009 6:05 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

are u really saying shit like this in 2009

Haha. I brought up hipsters a few days ago to a friend, but it was sort of an affectionate query.

free energy is a dope band that features chill bros talking abt their lives - i think all friends of "lyrical directness" should listen to them (i do)

― iirc flair (J0rdan S.), Friday, September 25, 2009 6:13 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

these dudes lyrics totally fail for me bcuz they (in contrast to dude from Girls) dont have any personality coming across -- its just like cheap trick/thin lizzy late 70s am radio pastiche.

i think the thing about his backstory is that it informs his personality, or it gives as a better grasp of his personality w/ its context ... like, i dunno if youve ever known a fucked up person with a funny, extroverted personality before but its like "oh i get this guy" once u hear the backstory. i dont think theres a problem w/ it informing your understanding of his music

and thats the thing, is that he gets away with this lyrical ... um ... lack of poetry because 1) hes just very genuine-sounding and (tied to that) 2) you really feel like you 'know' dude when yr listening to this record

i get really kinda tired of all these record nerd expectations about what narrative hes supposed to fit into cf shakey's "HE SOUNDS JUST LIKE 90S JANGLE POP" cuz its like, so what? & that raekwon record u are ass kissing sounds just like some 90s wu tang, big deal. there might be songs like that, but there isnt another Girls. Id rather have a dude using an old archetype (& frankly in the post hollertronix/grand narrative its kind of refreshing) than some dudes trying some new concept but not actually writing interesting material to go along with it. Free Energy's CHEAP TRICK IS COOL AGAIN thing feels so forced in comparison

"these dudes lyrics totally fail for me bcuz they (in contrast to dude from Girls) dont have any personality coming across -- its just like cheap trick/thin lizzy late 70s am radio pastiche."

i should mention that the other reason their lyrics fall (who doesnt want another thin lizzy?) is that they're super generic lyrics (unlike thin lizzy's). Instead of Dino's bar and grill you get these vague descriptions of, like, transcendent experience (not in a spiritual way, just like "things were never the same"-type blandness) without the weird personality that lets dude from Girls get away w it

ps this isnt a 9.1 record to me or anything (lol numbers) but i do think its enjoyable

that said isnt it fair to say the 'hype' u dudes are responding to didnt even exist two days ago? it was like one article in the fader

idk man this one was a slow train a-comin i think - they had a song on the pfork 500, a bunch of hyped tracks on the site, dude has a feature in the new spin which was obv planned months ago

felt like the best new music and whatever ensued was inevitable

bcuz its a good record?

"are u really saying shit like this in 2009"

Hahaha True.

bcuz its a good record?

― deej, Friday, September 25, 2009 7:46 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

well it was easy to tell that it had good advance hype from ppl who had heard it

i think a lot of ppl 'hype' it because they think its not only good but has potential to be, like, successful, o.c.-level style. where i dont know, whats underhyped this year? probably doesnt

O.C. level success does not happen based on quality of music alone. Lots of other things sell an artist, and most of those things fall under the category of what makes "hype."

...and they played todd p gigs quite some time ago, which is where some hype starts.

right -- quality is unmeasurable, which makes it kind of difficult. 'will appeal to a wide audience' i think is the main kind of 'hype' here. on a musical basis. i guess you could credit the backstory just for being unique, but imho the main thing is that it is a property of this music that it seems like it will appeal to lots of different ppl

Love this guy. Backstory sounds like JT Leroy.

I don't mean that as a good or bad thing... just that I'm ambivalent as to how many drugs the guy does or how many of his siblings have passed away.

What I hear is alright but I think this thing is getting selling points for the back story the same way Bon Iver did (The whole cabin thing). Marketing is fun.

― Evan, Friday, September 25, 2009 6:50 PM (2 hours ago)

i listened to this a few weeks ago and don't remember much besides it being a little dull and not liking his voice, but ^this is the kind of stuff keeping me from going back to it

Marketing is hard.

kevin your favorite band's last two records have been few of the most notable backstory-driven indie records of the past few years

eh but i fell for the albums before i cared about the backstory (even still, i don't really care about the backstory). it's something that's nice - but unnecessary - to know about after you've already fallen for the album on its own musical terms.

i mean are the lyrics part of the reason you like this? i don't know what any of them are but i don't really want to be bothered to have to meet him halfway here - honestly i can think of maybe two rock musicians in the world that i'd care about their lyrics even if the music sucked

yeah but you would get indignant if someone was like "ah i listened to this of montreal album once but the backstory keeps me from listening again" - that's kind of a horseshit reason of course

and KB isnt even one of them xp

yeah but you would get indignant if someone was like "ah i listened to this of montreal album once but the backstory keeps me from listening again" - that's kind of a horseshit reason of course

― iirc flair (J0rdan S.), Friday, September 25, 2009 9:26 PM (2 minutes ago)

otm of course but by the same token if someone wasn't hooked by the music alone it'd be lame to be like, "no read about this dude's life story, it'll make you like him more"

xxp i think the lyrics are really good and cut deep very quickly & simply at times - like i said i think at times they're also trite &, to echo cad, pathetic - but the ratio is high enough to keep me interested. i think the production is pretty amazing throughout and that's its biggest draw to me. non-guitar sounds are really clear and present.

offical response "not bad" vs. every other indie 'hipster' diy pop lol of the year thus far.

/haterade

the more I listen to this the more I'm struck by the guy's voice. As eccentric as it is, it's incredibly expressive, and I think beautiful. It's got an intense longing and sadness that's almost overwhelming and that's perfectly suited to the music. I'm not usually a fan of most pop song lyrics, but on the two big tracks from the album (the ones in the videos above) the simplicity and open-hearted confessional quality of the words tips them over the line from cliche into something almost brilliant. I also agree with comments by JOrdan S and Tom Breihan in his review that the subtle production touches really do a great service to the songs, adding even more to the emotional weight. Although I like the rest of the album, none of it reaches the peaks of those two songs imo.

What I hear is alright but I think this thing is getting selling points for the back story.

Kind of like Joy Division. Would anyone be listening to that shit if Ian Curtis was some fat bald guy right now?

Am just listening to this for the first time, and I really like it. It sounds so "nice", in a good, dreamy way. I like how there's a cloud of shoegazeyness over most songs.

Plus, I wasn't at all surprised when half in the album I read the guy was previously in Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. Makes perfect sense to me.

Kind of like Joy Division. Would anyone be listening to that shit if Ian Curtis was some fat bald guy right now?

YES. But the backstory adds morbid mystique, I admit.

Dude sounds a little like a twee Ian Svenonious.

ugh, those videos make me feel so dirty for living in san francisco

lol imo the lust for life video is wonderful! what is wrong with "we're-young-beautiful-and-invincible," anyways?

I doubt I'm going to end up caring too much about this band (could be wrong) but I'm kind of wondering now about the extent of Jeremy Spencer's influence on the musical tastes of the Children of God, given that that first video above sounds exactly like a fifteen-year-old in the 2000's recording a track for Kiln House. I also thought (as above) of JT LeRoy.

the best thing about this album is that although the songs are simple and idiotic,they perform them with great maturity and talent.
this contradiction is a big part of the charm.
it's a rare thing among new indie bands this days.

lol

lol

These guys are no Boston synthpunks/new-wavers The Girls!

(pointless hit+run post cz I found the guy's voice too hard to take to get all the way through the album, but in the light of car-crash fascination with the interview I guess I will give them another chance)

this was a record i dl'd & was like "man this shit ... whatever" then found myself putting it on all the time at first out of some weird love-hate guilty pleasure fascination before finally giving in ... no real (as in, not surface-level 'his voice bothers me'-type) crit that i could come up w/ to not listen to it so

yeah same. i heard it in fader fuckin ages ago and was generaly kinda meh. but then i read the backstory and that got me much more interested; i gave it a proper listen and it just kinda clicked for me, especially when put in proper context.

also i love the guys voice; srlsy do not get any of the hate.

i think the reason the 'sounds like elvis costello' thing doesnt bother me is related to why the record appeals as a whole ... his personality is so strong & comes through so clearly (not as a lyricist, although partly as that, but also as a songwriter, through the cracked, sincere way he sings the songs, and through his artistic decisions & focus on concrete themes) that im like "sounds like elvis costello" for approximately 3.4 seconds, and for the rest of the record he just sounds like himself

Seriously I think the backstory is barely if at all related to the 'hype.' to me the hype is just that a lot of people see this as a record that will appeal to lots of people! the kind of people who arent going to just turn it off cuz 'oh indie rock oh played out references' etc. i think the played out nature of his influences actually helps make it more obvious that he's made a good record, because if he hadn't, this wouldnt have gotten a second glance

I know I was way more inclined to listen to it when I found out the guy's backstory. I kind of wanna hear what somebody who went through this "Diff'rent Strokes but with a crazy white family" life had to say on his album

also,
i think the played out nature of his influences actually helps make it more obvious that he's made a good record, because if he hadn't, this wouldnt have gotten a second glance

i have no idea what that means

i dunno kind of a circular argument but i sorta believe it too

Its definitely the backstory.

nice album, no doubt.
but overrated (9.1?! really?),cause it has it's pros and cons of a debut album:
the melodies are too simple and repetetive sometimes, and there are some filler tracks.

on the otherhand,stuff like Lust for life and Morning Light (which btw steal the beginning chords of sonic youth's Mote) are great, the lo-fi 60's production is very good, and the kid has a great voice.

This is my favorite album of the year so far. I don't hear filler and don't think it's overrated (the pitchfork rating itself didn't bother me, though the review didn't describe (or sell) the music all that well. For what it's worth, when I heard and became taken with the album, I knew nothing of the backstory that the press coverage is mainly focusing on. The simplicity of the lyrics, as discussed above, is part of what I like about it. But it's the way they take basic themes (loneliness/feeling like an outcast/friendship/being young + wild, etc), articulate them in simple/direct terms, and then make them sound big and romantic - crashing, sweeping, surrounding, etc. I like the harmonies, the dreamy shoegazer-ness, the JAMC vibe at times, the '50s pop idol/hotrod vibes other times, the way he twists his voice around in dramatic ways, etc.

1) hes just very genuine-sounding and (tied to that) 2) you really feel like you 'know' dude when yr listening to this record

are you really saying shit like this in 2009?

do you listen to music to make imaginary friends?

totally!

I like Lust for Life enough off the video above that I wanna hear the rest of this

the singles are growing on me, havent gone back to the whole thing yet. read about the bacstory/read the interview - didnt really interest me all that much but good for him for getting out i guess

btw fwiw i can't really find anything in the songs that relates to the back story beyond the odd line like "i wish i had a father"

they can't have pizza in his cult

also the name "laura" is banned in his cult, so really there are a whole bunch of songs

fair enough--my gf is named laura so i'm actually highly empathetic w/this dude

Did he sing a song about how they couldn't have pizza?

yeah dude - crazily oppressive cult

well, that's not true, they could have pizza hut, but i mean is that really pizza? you know? so i think that's where the inspiration comes from.

the only thing they could have was sex to try to get ppl into the cult, and even that was only the women

Like your friends mom who never buys any good food and when you come over there is totally nothing fun to eat and you are stuck with sugarless cereal and organic soy milk. Like that oppressive. Fourth graders everywhere can relate.

Except fourth graders are alienated because they think they would be made fun of for listening to a band called girls who have cooties.

You know, it suddenly occurred to me that this album reminds me a bit of the Libertines or Babyshambles. What is that quality...? Wasted youth? Something like that.

Like, you read about Michael Jackson’s upbringing and he talks about how weird it was to be a Jehovah’s Witness. And it’s like that times sixty percent.

I don't think they had good math teachers either

lol.
I like what he has to say about his admiration for Michael Jackson

By the sounds of it i'll prob dig this, is it like Ganglians?

Um, could it be that no one has pointed out yet that the melody of "Lust For Life" is, like, totally "Young Folks?"

I like the album and all, just sayin'

I could use some Pizza Hut now.

Dude sounds a little like a twee Ian Svenonious.

He sounds like Elvis Costello.

Reminds me of Graham Parker.

I'm really digging Lust for Life, but it's ultimately unsatisfying. Like it really only gets going at the start of the second verse, and you're hoping for a 3rd after the cmon cmon but it just kinda peters out. I don't know how intentional this is but it just makes me listen to the song over before going on.

i mean the 1st verse has its charms of course but for me "get going" = awesome bass and background vox.

something about this seems more genuine and likable than the typical indie rock hipster bullshit that Pitchfork usually promotes. I take the fact that I don't automatically hate this dude from the bottom of my soul after listening to the album as a good sign.

^^res, that speaks to something I was (unsuccfully) trying to say above, articulated better by Ryan Dombal: "...He jumps into more universal genie fodder-- pizza, sun tan, beach house-- and you realize the out-of-reach-ness is the entire point. "Lust for Life" is the background to chasing good times; may his wishes never truly come to be." Ryan D says this at the end of his "Lust for Life" review.

Coming from your friends, the things he says would sound like bullshit. "But this guy lives to be your drunk confidant in the back of the bar 20 minutes before close-- everything he utters sounds giddy and revelatory, as if it's being said for the first time. Like: "Yeah, 'have a good time'-- why didn't I ever think of that?"

It's the teenage sincerity cutting through the blandly aspirational lyrics that somehow makes him (and them) seem more genuine and likable...

a couple of acoustic songs played live at Open Bar:
http://tinyurl.com/ybb8owp

http://tinyurl.com/ycan7l6

hmm didn't work

the videos can be seen towards the bottom of this page
http://butterxface.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-09-17T12%3A14%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=5

The P4k "Lust for Life" review was so great

i refer all haters and agnostics to it

something about this seems more genuine and likable than the typical indie rock hipster bullshit that Pitchfork usually promotes

Yeah I dunno, it seems less self-consciously arty than a lot of Pitchfork indie which kinda endears me to it. I hate 'Laura', though.

i mean whatever you think about this guy i don't understand why he should be held up in opposition to something else--i know this is a stupid question and i'm wasting my time but what acclaimed indie bands did u ppl find objectionable that this seems like an antidote to?

It's not the antidote to anything, it's more of the same but without the irritating look-at-us-aren't-we-clever factor.

what bands do you think project look-at-us-aren't-we-clever?

haha i assume the only reason ppl havent mentioned the fact that "laura" is a complete neil diamond bite is bc it's so obvious

the last song reminds me of a deerhunter song

i know this is a stupid question and i'm wasting my time but what acclaimed indie bands did u ppl find objectionable that this seems like an antidote to?

Grizzly Bear, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Arcade Fire, Monsters of Folk, She and Him, Bon fucking Iver, Band Of Horses, latter day (ie everything after Clouds Taste Metallic) Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Wavves, Wavves again, My Morning Jacket, anything by or inspired by Radiohead, Times New Viking...you need a few more?

Girls - a band I merely like and don't necessarily see as the second coming of Christ or Kurdt or whatever - is better than all of these, and a welcome respite from a bunch of very 'acclaimed' music that evokes nothing and communicates even less.

I liked the album pretty well after a few listens, but after reading the Fader article and watching the video for "Hellhole Ratrace" I think it might be one of my favorites this year. Someone compared to The Libertines earlier and I can definitely see that.

i'm glad we could agree that girls are better than radiohead

The Libertines are also better than Girls (I like this album though).

yeah tbf besides radiohead girls fit right in with all those other p4k bands afaic, not even taking quality into account

gucci mane OTM. Girls doesn't seem like an antidote to Grizzly Bear, The Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips, Bon Iver, Hold Steady, AnCo, etc. Rather like yet another instance. Is the difference that you like the Girls record more?

How can you posit Band A as an antidote to Bands B, C, D, E, and F when they barely share a sensibility? That's like saying, "I prefer Bob Dylan to Tom Petty."

but...but...he's just a real dude talkin baout things!

I agree with k3vin and contenderizer.

Girls is on the road (going very fast) to being as equally hyped as those other bands. Besides hype, it just comes down to what you like. Its not like Hold Steady or Wavves are, to me at least, any more forced sounding musically so what does this antidote thing really mean? I get it as a comparison to Grizzly Bear, but not to all of the artists Mr.Assholes...Airports listed.

it's not a question of how hyped it is; it's a question of how honest and unaffected it seems. I totally agree that this is unlike most of those bands mentioned above, though I wouldn't say this is an antidote to so much as a respite from.

Oh fuck off with your talk of "honesty". What next, "authenticity"?

I think the difference is a very heart-on-sleeve sincerity that strikes me as having been kinda unfashionable in Pitchfork Indie in favour of being 'literate' or whatever. Actually the thing this album reminds me most of, in attitutde rather than sonics, is Spiritualized circa 1997. Maybe Elliot Smith as well. This could easily get as tiresome as everything else admittedly, and probably well very soon.

sincere = shitgaze literate

I think when Mike said how "honest it seems," he meant pretty close to the same thing as you Matt when you say "heart-on-sleeve sincerity." Like a refreshing straightforwardness right?

But in my opinion Hold Steady would be a poor example as something it is respite from (based on what I've heard of Girls so far), since The Hold Steady aren't as arguably difficult as the others.

i mean any talk of "honesty" and "sincerity" mirrors exactly what i was hearing when arcade fire came out and supposedly blew away, like, brooklyn dance-punk bands or whatever. it's cool if you like this band (even though i do not get the appeal at all) but let's be honest w/ourselves.

Sorry, I realised that contradiction as soon as I posted it, substitute "sincerity" for "earnestness".

I guess what I meant was that despite the Pitchfork props, it doesn't seem like the dude spent years hanging out with hipsters, blindly aping their vacuous fashionability, carefully styled messed-up hair, or their entire set of aesthetic sensibilities in general. Just the way he writes, sings, and the subjects he sings about seem far away from the whole popular indie scene, and you can tell that he didn't grow up in it or relate to it the same way all the fuckers mentioned above (and below) do.

Grizzly Bear, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Arcade Fire, Monsters of Folk, She and Him, Bon fucking Iver, Band Of Horses, latter day (ie everything after Clouds Taste Metallic) Flaming Lips, Animal Collective, Wavves

The back story made complete sense to me because it just sounds like he's coming from a different place, one that's not cobbled together from the aesthetics fed to him by some scene (real or media-created).

are you fucking serious? he hung out with punk kids in texas and i suggest watching the lust for life video to see who he hangs out with now.

t doesn't seem like the dude spent years hanging out with hipsters, blindly aping their vacuous fashionability, carefully styled messed-up hair, or their entire set of aesthetic sensibilities in general.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING

i suggest watching the lust for life video to see who he hangs out with now.

man i think everyone just looks like that in sf

are you fucking serious? he hung out with punk kids in texas and i suggest watching the lust for life video to see who he hangs out with now.

OH SHIT YOU CAUGHT ME IN OWN WEB OF LIES. anyway, it was just my own impression even before I heard the back story; he doesn't sound like he's mimicking a scene or its aesthetics. if you disagree, that's fine.

(that is to say, if you disagree about him sounding like he's mimicking a scene, not that he actually hung out with REAL LIVE PUNK KIDS FROM TEXAS)

my issue is with all of these other artists that you've caricatured inanely as being vacuous hipsters. i mean, this band pretty much bites everything it knows how to do from remedial courses in 60s pop--if that's a lesser crime to you then ok whatever.

really surprised at the amount of ilm-ers with "well i was just ok with it at first, but i read the (insert troubled backstory) article and now i LOVE it!!" stories

hey what is vacuous about those bands, res? besides maybe wavves and aptbs all those bands you named have pretty potent emotional content and honest-seeming lyrics (sometimes to the point of embarassment.) i'd say it's stuff with an ironic, nonchalant dazed unseriousness that's vacuousness. alot of dance music, some pop. not to say indie rock can't be vacuous either but those are weird examples imo.

Plus the "they're not hipsters, they're fucking real life weirdos, man" bullshit authenticity thing was attached to the Flaming Lips in like 1986. And it wasn't any less useless (or useful) then. Actually, I think it applies better to them. And fuck a "backstory" anyway.

Plus samosa OTM.

its soooo silly what music ends up inspiring long-ass ilm threads sometimes

short ones too

its soooo silly what music ends up inspiring long-ass ilm threads sometimes

― xhuxk mangione (deej), Tuesday, October 6, 2009 10:04 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

yes, totes shocking that an indie record that got a 9.1 from pitchfork inspired a long-ass ilm thread

yeah but its so absurd -- this record could not sound more harmless or meaningless in the grand scheme of music discourse ... its like, wow, an unpretentious slight right turn from your typical indie rock record done very well -- wtf is there to discuss ultimately ... nothing epochal or controversial about it. like, a debate about the 'authenticity' of his backstory, really?

this is like the autogoon crew having a 200 post discussion about the blaq poet LP

i think it's a shitty record so i'm being a pain in the ass. anyway this is <200 posts over a couple weeks bfd.

So far I've listened to side one. The first half of side one I like, the second half, including "Hellhole Ratrace" is kind of crappy.

But

an unpretentious slight right turn from your typical indie rock record done very well -- wtf is there to discuss ultimately ... nothing epochal or controversial about it.

That's pop music, deej, that's all you're ever going to get out of it, a bit wtf is there to discuss ultimately.

And I think this fits in with records like that Cody Chesnutt one, where all the crap didn't keep me from loving it. I don't love this yet, but . . . I don't know. Plus it's shorter, so I hope side two is good. Don't you put a heart on (or a hard on) for flawed records?

Plus this Girls band, definitely ironic in places, reflexive, lots of deliberate quoting. That lead-off track is narrated by a composite character. It's not a brilliant record, but it's not totally lacking in sophistication, even lyrically, and we shouldn't think too much that he's always meaning what he says, or that he lacks self-awareness about dumb some of the lyrics sound. Although I did describe them to an acquaintance tonight as a little stupid.

"about how dumb," I meant

yah but i mean ... i get why ppl went all apeshit discussing MIA or Kid A or lots of that other stuff ... but this record couldnt be more MOR indie, which is apparently a super-controversial stance

def the first time a rec that many people dont see the merits of receives a lot of hype and results in a long heated thread here, for sure

everyone doesnt see the merits of everything ... what record did everyone agree on in the pfork top ten? none. so why even pay attention?

this guy played with ariel pink for a while. I don't know if he counts as hipster, maybe a squirrely socal version of one?

I like bamcquern's comments about the "meta" quality of a lot of the lyrics, sung in different voices and not maybe as purely unironic or sincere as the most superficial interpretation would lead you. makes you wonder about the thing more, and makes a great template for your own lyrical fantasies, which all good pop music should provide. Maybe his talent is making you buy the backstory and invest in him those qualities - sincerity, alienation from the "good" life of hipsters, longing for love and peace - that the music as it is calls for.

I'm also with samosa gibreel that seemingly everyone in SF looks like the people in those videos.

IF IT FLOATES, WE KNOAWE IT'S A HIPSTERE

O_o <-- me just hearing this for the first time and wondering why I kept seeing this theard in site new answers. So there's some amazing back story that makes it sound better? What happened here?

read the interview linked in this thread for the backstory. he grew up in a cult, was on his own by 16, found a wealthy benefactor, and made his way to sf and started playing music.

So this will make me like it more? I gotta try this.

hahah no it may not do that

ohhhh PF gave it a ridiculous rating to boot! now i see… as you were.

i think part of the problem is tom's review didnt quite get to the point where it justifies the rating, it does a lot of describing the record and then saying "it does this very very well" without making a straightforward case for it being super duper

Hate the guys voice. Liked maybe 2 songs off the album enough to not want to skip them.

Unnecessary and perfunctory cover of 'True Love Will Find You..' didn't alter owt.

good tunes

ugh, those videos make me feel so dirty for living in san francisco
― psychgawsple, Saturday, September 26, 2009 7:03 PM (1 month ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^ this. i don't particularly like or hate the music, but the videos make me want to have babies and never go out again or move immediately. the second vid i saw was from the dia de los muertos parade. it was all burners and hipsters in skull makeup dancing trying to be spooky. absolutely no latinos. how authentic is that?

lol I didn't bother with the second video but uh I would think its pretty hard to shoot footage of the parade and NOT get any latinos in it

substance, on pitchfork is all kinds or beautiful

lol I didn't bother with the second video but uh I would think its pretty hard to shoot footage of the parade and NOT get any latinos in it

― Jack Kirby's Orangutan Surfing Civilization (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:49 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark

I watched it. 100% Jaxon otm

Almost everything attached to this band (videos, back story, lyrics) puts me off, but I've kind of given in and made peace with the fact that I like the songs. On some level it reminds me of Joy Zipper, not sonically, but in the way that weird little misunderstandings of the nature of a pop song creep in. His vocals actually don't seem that annoying on listening to the whole album...Lust For Life seems like the worst offender.

Yeah if you wrote the lyrics out and gave then to an English class they wouldn't be too impressed but when coupled with the songs they seem perfectly natural and at times simple and profound. Nothing about this album is unpredictable and yet to my ears it still sounds exciting- especially when the sun is out and I am drinking pina coladas and cold beer.

my wife's reaction to this was "gee you think he listens to Elvis Costello much?" definitely a lot of Elvis in the phrasing on the first couple songs

I like about 75% of this record a lot and don't mind the other 25%. "Laura" and "Hellhole Ratrace" are both pretty great.

haha oops I guess the elvis costello thing was a sore point upthread. I kinda thought it was discussed but when I did a ctrl-f I didn't have all posts shown

anyway not a negative, to me. some of it has a bit of a Teenage Fanclub feel, too (also not a neg.)

Reminds me a lot of an underproduced, american version of Spiritualized.

lol

I just picked this album up yesterday after seeing them interview Lawrence from Felt/Denim on another thread. After a few listens I really like it. The first couple of songs do have a big Elvis Costello feel to them with a hint of Daniel Johnston.

I'm not too sure about some of the lyrics, I know he has this massive back story from when he was younger but It's never great hearing people say "'m so crazy and fucked in the head" It kinda reminds me of that guy from the Vines who tried to make a whole career out of that story or at least the press certainly focused on it.

that partic line irks me a lil cos i feel like the only ppl who really say "i'm so crazy!" r the kinda ppl who wear silly hats to the office party but in general i think the lyrics r pretty good in a bland but resonant way

Yeah that's exactly it people who say they're crazy are usually just incredibly dull or are just trying too hard. It's not enough to put me off and that song in particular is the one that caught my attention I just wish he was singing something else in those few lines.

I really think this might be my favorite debut album of the year.

there is one track on the album called "big bad mean motherfucker" the title put me off so i never listened to it. does anyone think it's worth listening to?

Yes.

alright i will give it a listen thanks

If I didn't already own this album, the above references (Joy Zipper, Spiritualized, Daniel Johnston, Felt/Denim, Elvis Costello, Teenage Fanclub) would have me running to the record store.

these guys do "wear their influences on their sleeves" as any pitchfork intern would say

what would they say next?

"fremme neppa vetta"

then they would say something completely incomprehensible concerning the integrity of the band's music.

yeah! like : "if u got a big butt, let me search ya"

haha they also use really big words that have no meaning concerning the review

My sorry read on this line: when he says "I'm crazy..." he is not kind of like 'look at me I have mental problems because of my fucked up life and backstory' i get that he is having just trying to enjoy his day or whatever after maybe breaking up with someone so he is just like totally in the moment, at a party or the park just being crazy and honest about it. that is one of the things that is so good about this record that the lyrics are just kind of simple and fun and totally natural. that is what you might say in a similar situation if you were trying to loosen up and 'start again' forget past misery etc...he is making fun of himself and having fun in the first track of the album. its an attempt at carefree abandon.

yah thats what annoys me, if it went "yeah my parents made me/ join this weird christian sect/ but now i'm in this "Girls" band/ we're influenced by Felt" I would prolly think abt it less

I think is kind of noble and refreshing though to try to be so positive in the face of a bad situation. He is no emo. That is what is so refreshing. Even when he is singing about a 'big bad motherfucker' he seems to be doing it with a certain sense of deranged glee. I guess his 'saddest' song is 'hellhole ratrace' but that ends with a big bliss out and him trying to affirm that he can 'make it by himself' Thats why it also seems so summery and uplifting because of the generally positive tone in the face of an obviously chaotic life.

yes i agree. some of my friends say "o the only reason their getting any attention is because of his backstory" in my opinion even if that wasn't the case i still would enjoy the music. His backstory wouldn't take anything away from the music. I like Girls not out of pity for Chris Owens, but for the quality of the music

but i still think his backstory is devastating and tragic, but that's not making me enjoy the music

dudes, i grew up in a cult. tevs. get over it. i'm normal

well i'm glad to hear that

i grew up in a cult. tevs. get over it.

ILX is educational:

1. tevs. Short, extra dismissive form of "whatever". Derived from the middle part of the word (i.e. whaTEVever).

John: "You are such a bitch for two-timing me like that"
Mary: "Tevs."

haha i wasn't sure what that meant thank you for enlightening me

I intend to use "tevs." in a motion.

well if you did i would understand

I didn't know any of the back story when I got the album, and knowing more of the back story hasn't really changed my appreciation of it. It does probably now color the way I interpret some of the lyrics - though I'm not sure that it makes me enjoy the album more now that I think of creepy cult-leader child-molesters when I listen to it.

I also thought of Elvis Costello when I first heard his singing, but his voice is actually a lot less nasal than Costello's if you A/B them. Owens has actually probably got a better rock-singer voice.

One tune sounds exactly like a Beautiful South song.

lol was that the group fatboy slim was in

Not quite.

o then i'm mixing them up with another group

it was beats international, don't know how i mixed those 2 up

One tune sounds exactly like a Beautiful South song

The chord progressions that they use have a well-worn, kind of timeless quality to them - I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't dozens of similar sounding songs, if you went looking for them. What sets this apart, I think, are: 1) the vocals, 2) the lyrics, 3) the way the atmospheric Twin-Peaks-soundtrack production contrasts with the sunny '60s-pop songwriting, and 4) the vocals. They remind me of The Smiths a bit, another band consisting of a distinctive singer-lyricist and a slightly retro sonic stylist, which also adored '60s pop, did occasional off-beat covers, and liked to experiment with guitar textures within fairly classicist songs.

ppl really want to listen to this guy whine over "classic pop" chord changes?

WTF is it about this group that people like? This singer is total shit. Awful.

Oh yeah it's on KEXP best of the year atm which is why this question is burning in my mind

it is befuddling

Nothing he does is unpredictable but I like it. He seems to be excited to be singing his songs and the chord changes are comforting.

He's no Aphex Twin.

He's no Glenn Gould.

He's no Glenn Beck.

Would immensely prefer listening to Glenn Beck moan over classic pop chord changes

wow this is way fucking worse than i expected

hahahahah

Anyone know if there's any limited (or non-limited) merch on this tour beyond the CD / LP? Missed the show by about five minutes (GPS FAIL!) the other night and was considering going anyway to score a t-shirt or something...

ha, i saw them tonight

they had a single called "oh boy" or something like that but i didn't really look hard cuz i had no cash on me

i loved the shirts too

the show was straight fire beautiful btw

i saw them at sxsw last year, it was a pretty good set but the sound wasn't so great and it was just at some sweaty austin dive. the weirdest thing is how young guitar dude and singing dude look compared to how old bass dude looks, and they're all the same age.

hm, apparently they've replaced their guitar player. anyways he used to look like a hanson brother, i'm tellin ya.

the other guitarist they had today definitely looked younger than the rest of the the three -- it's still crazy to me that the singer is 30+

the smith westerns kind of ruled insanely hard tbh, and it made me sad that they're one of these bands who would be great to listen to on record if it didn't sound like they recorded their songs inside a toilet bowl. their set was like super reverebed & i loved it

the smith westerns album is great, just don't listen to it on earbuds

yeah i'm gonna go back in listen because i loved their set so much, will play on speakers

they definitely came off as kinda t. rex-y at times, i was surprised

how'd you find the album?

p4k

?

ooh lol

i haven't listened yet

the singer is 30+?! no way! i saw them a few months ago and he looked pretty young to me... example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cz77/4096885622/

Okay so, on finally listening to this and quite enjoying it, i find it pretty weird that nobody mentioned Jonathan Richman on this thread. A fair bit of it really reminds me of him.

Terrific use of the words 'fuckers' and 'fuckos' in this thread.

They're playing in town tonight. Is it worth going to see them? they're playing with Dum Dum Girls.

i thought their show was beautiful

Yeah I would recommend seeing them too

in all sincerity, this is the worst album (heh) i heard in 2009. how anyone can stomach his vocals and lyrics is beyond me.

new EP is amazing, actually better than the album imo

so good pfork otm

initial reaction is that the songwriting is much more direct & songs are more immediate

also the sonic flourishes here seem a bit more integrated to me than they did on the first album

Excited. Pre-ordered this a while back. Hope it comes with a download coupon thingy, my record player's not working...

Listening right now & it has some really beautiful production & songwriting. Heartbreaker is verging on instant classic territory for me...the sharp snare and washy guitar in a simple, but perfect chord progression, with possibly Owen's most emotionally desperate lyrics to date. The title track is also flat out gorgeous, with it's dreamy pedal steel & slowly unfolding melody. Overall, very high quality for an EP and shows quite a bit of progression. Pretty excited to see them in two weeks time, but haven't been blown away by any live footage I've seen. Still can't wait though.

I LOVE this.

Still stand by my posts last year, but, sadly, I haven't relistened since last December.

listen to this EP -- it's amazing

Somehow better than the album.

What a great band.

The resemblance to Costello is just way too strong... I can't get over it.

EP is kind of a snooze imo, totally disagree that it's better than the album (which I still listen to a ton). feels like all the edges that made the LP interesting are buffed off.

the songwriting is much more direct & songs are more immediate

to me it's borderline mawkish (Broken Dreams Club ffs) and too slick, the songs on the album feel so much more "real" where this is kinda calculated and more obviously "written". to me anyway.

I liked the album in fits and starts, but never as a whole. The EP clicking with me on all fronts. kelpolaris OTM that the Costello influence that was present on Album drenches the first three songs on the EP (at least). And that's a very good thing.

Heartbreaker is perfect.

This EP is fantastic. Although it doesn't reach the peaks of Album, it also doesn't sink into its valleys either. Way more of a consistent record.

Heartbreaker is perfect.

― The SBurbs (Alex in Montreal), Monday, December 6, 2010 2:37 PM (9 hours ago) Bookmark

Yes it truly is...easily one of the years best songs.

Anyone heard Father, Son & Holy Ghost?

so Girls new album Father, Son & Holy Ghost? is coming out in just a few days

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/de/Girls-father-son-holy-ghost.jpg

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Honey Bunny" 2:41
2. "Alex" 4:59
3. "Die" 4:58
4. "Saying I Love You" 4:06
5. "My Ma" 4:05
6. "Vomit" 6:28
7. "Just A Song" 6:48
8. "Magic" 3:35
9. "Forgiveness" 7:58
10. "Love Like A River" 3:49
11. "Jamie Marie" 4:36
Total length: 53:29

it is soooooo soooooo good

nice car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze6rg4ixjOI&ob=av2e

deserves its own thread tbh

fine Jordan u win

seeing these guys Thursday, v excited

love the culty backstory and the tracks I've heard are great. About to start the stream of the new album. Does it all have that radiohead street spirit vibe though?

First thought on hearing the new single was Dark Side of the Moon...

I like it better like this: http://youtubedoubler.com/1EPZ

anticipating this

O_O

was unaware that they had gotten this good

9.3 everyone drudge srien etc

^^can u believe this guy

i think i really like this, a bit scant on immediate hooks (felt this way about the first album too) but already the subtler ones are coming to the fore w/ increased familiarity. not as wild abt how referential it is or how underwritten the lyrics are as mark richardson, but i do think the partic intersection of guitar pop classicism and indie rock arrangement theyve carved out is really, fruitful? like, all of the strumming patterns & arpeggios & hawaiian guitar licks were built for and w/in a stricter compact mode of song, but in this context there's almost no sense that anything should ever end, things just keep unfurling, reverberating. the amount of space & patience also makes the quirky moves feel less deliberate, just perfectly natural

so far my favs are

honey bunny
alex
myma
vomit
just a song
forgiveness

only think i dont really like at all is 'die'

yeah "die" is the easy weak spot

the second half of this album is basically perfect

hmm! I like the first half. But it's great, it drifts by and comes back to you at inopportune moments.

it drifts by and comes back to you at inopportune moments.

having not listened to the album yet, i'm not sure what this means, but am excited to find out!

"honey bunny" sounds like an islands song

A startling album. The first one violated my canon of acceptable taste because it was so guileless, so sweet. The absence of verbal irony -- he means what he says, dammit -- was refreshing.

The huge rawk riffs on this one are even shrewder musical correlatives for his sniveling (some of this sounds like Badfinger!), and while on third listen I'm attracted to it I'm not crazy about the song lengths.

when we scoff at "indie" this is what we mean -- and what most indie fails to sound like.

The absence of verbal irony -- he means what he says, dammit -- was refreshing.

idk i think this album is p steeped in irony its one of the things i like about it!!

love the song lengths

idk i think this album is p steeped in irony its one of the things i like about it!!

really? I'm curious. I'm distracted because I keep switching b/w it and the Pistol Annies record.

well i guess i just read a 'bad poetry is always sincere' self-conscious weariness into his lyrics/delivery (and sorta into the music itself which is... less defensible i guess). like theres a sweetness and sincerity to the lyrics of 'love like a river' but also an acknowledgment of the lazy theft of half-forgotten sentiments. its sorta arriving at the point past the knowing pose and arched eyebrow but still having traveled that road...

the songs are long but don't feel that way to me

there is some irony that i think cuts the sincerity -- there has to be -- but in general i think he's a pretty sincere dude, yeah

and what most indie fails to sound like.

― Anakin Ska Walker (AKA Skarth Vader) (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, September 13, 2011 9:48 PM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

yes, if only all indie albums sounded this good

Listen to the Mellotron and the snare in "Just a Song." Two minutes too long, I think, but the title hook is a genuine mantra; it's like he's willing himself to believe.

on Fallon tonight I think

most ironic moment is how can i say i love you & yeah love life

always surprised by the appearance of backing soul diva vocals

in fallon in a few mins

i thought you were being sarcastic J, my bad

have yet to hear this and n ow looking forward to it

GREAT

http://www.pitchfork.com/news/43988-watch-girls-on-jimmy-fallon/

seeing them in a week and a half

Although I understand he attempts some kind of mid seventies Neil Young-esque transcendence-through-simplicity, "My Ma" isn't one of my favorites; the chords and backup singing just aren't very interesting.

I really like "Vomit" and I sorta like that 8 minute song, and overall the production is like REALLY fucking good, but I can't see myself coming back to this record very often..

Is it possible that this record is a grower? Will I enjoy it more after the 8th time?

Pfork review made me never want to hear this

I'm avoiding Pitchfork reviews for a while.

this record is a serious grower

I like it better when he tones down his grandiose tendencies, although i think it is refreshing that he goes for it anyway- if that makes sense. He is certainly one of the guileless music makers going around now.

i want to shake everyone that doesn't fuck w this

'most' guileless music makers, I meant to say.

Love their extended jams, Carolina is my fav. I don't listen to their lyrics that closely, but as background mantras they sound entirely appropriate.

I'm really not sure what to think about this album so far. The production is really good but the songs aren't grabbing me that much apart from the two singles. In places it really reminds me of Richard Hawley, especially How Can I Say I love You which is exactly like something he would do lyrically and musically. On a lot of the other songs he sounds like he's really trying to sound like Elliott Smith. I guess that's the reason why I'm struggling with the album as a whole, so many of the songs sound like something I've already heard. Dlp9001 saying that Vomit sounds like Dark Side Of The Moon is spot on. Hopefully the whole thing will grow on me as I do really want to like this.

i want to shake everyone that doesn't fuck w this

― J0rdan S., Friday, 16 September 2011 03:55 (16 hours ago) Bookmark

this is the best guitar pop album in like, four five years

the clean production is boring and the over-the-top moments are annoying.
maybe if i liked mid 70's pink floyd things would look different.

women > girls

I like the Manfred Mann "Blinded By The Light" references on "Vomit".

This guy could use a producer.

what does that mean

Someone to tell him that a couple of the seven minute jams would have been even more harrowing at three or four minutes.

...to tell him "Love Like a River" is a redundancy.

oh

no that's the best song! xp

"Honey Bunny" is. What an opener. "Magic" and "Vomit" are too.

"love like a river" is definitely my favorite vocal performance of his

'house bunny' and 'love like a river' are the two tracks i really like

I like the Manfred Mann "Blinded By The Light" references on "Vomit".

you're right! I missed this. I was going to say ELO.

house bunny!

haha i know!

Heard "Vomit" earlier today, kinda liked the first three minutes of it then everything went completely off the rails with bombast and WOO BACKING VOCALS. Haven't heard the rest of the album. Does it manage to avoid those pitfalls?

love 'Alex', love 'My Ma', like 'Honey Bunny'.

Listening to the earlier EP now and prefer this to the bombast littering the album. His country stuff is good- leave the rock alone Chris.

Heard "Vomit" earlier today, kinda liked the first three minutes of it then everything went completely off the rails with bombast and WOO BACKING VOCALS. Haven't heard the rest of the album. Does it manage to avoid those pitfalls?

― Matt M., Saturday, September 17, 2011 12:46 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

ummm, sort of, but also not really. i thought the backing vocals + gospel undertones of "vomit" were a bit much the first few times i heard it, but i think it makes a lot more sense in the frame of the album, and i've grown to appreciate it in that context

Is no-one else picking up on the similarities to Richard Hawley on this album? How Can I Say I Love You and Love Like a River could be songs on any of his albums.

I just wish there were more songs on the album like Honey Bunny, it's by far the best song on here and I really think the second side could do with some more short pop songs like that. The only song on the second side that isn't a ballad is Magic which I find quite annoying.

Not trying to pick on you, J0rdan, but that's the first time I've heard someone refer to a single in the context of an album in the last ten years. I may give the whole thing a spin when I get a chance.

well, i wouldn't even really call it a single? i mean i guess it is, in the sense that it's the first song they released from the album, but it also isn't in the sense that a single girls song has no impact on the music world writ large. it's not like a single that you hear 300 times on the radio or something -- there's no other context for "vomit" for me outside of the album. it's a song that i listened to a few times, thought it was good but flawed, but when i listened to the album it clicked for me

the thing about "vomit" is that it functions as (theoretically) as the "epic side one closer" a la "i want you (she's so heavy)" or something. it serves a purpose on the album and thru that lens i was able to understand & embrace the things about it that i thought were over the top when i heard it as a standalone mp3

Yeah this is a really good album. Despite the annoying blog hype i actually quite liked the debut as it reminded me of Jonathan Richman. New LP is completely different but a lot better.

"epic side one closer" a la "i want you (she's so heavy)"

good analogy!

kind of surprised more people arent into this, otoh mostly the only ppl to have weighed in are tedious ilm randoms mb the tides will turn once more show up

I think I prefer the first one so far, mostly because I think "Hellhole Ratrace" is one of the best songs of the decade and nothing on this one, after two and a half spins, seems to come close. Then again, this album has 'grower' written all over it, so I'm anxious to spend more time with it.

Love this band.

just spent 30 minutes in record store. in that time saw maybe 12-15 other patrons. clerk put on girls LP, sold three copies during first side.

wtf it's not even good!

three LPs no less

Okay, now that makes sense. Just weird to hear about songs as parts of albums and not just this thing you consume on its own is all.

might have sold more had she put on the second side

lots of people are into this in california ... i was actually more surprised that there were three people who hadn't heard of girls in the record shop at the same time

"tedious ilm randoms"

What a friendly thing to say.

sometimes you just wanna talk about an indie rock album its weird

Why is rock weirder than anything else?

I'm feeling this record man.

bought this over the weekend, really liking it so far. my copy came with a bonus track on a flexi-disc but i haven't listened to that yet

like this record.

Yeah, this really is great.

this song is a lot of fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuDoYhQI2o

First track on the album really sounds like The Undertones to me, esp the vocals.

The one Bee posted.

This band is just so insanely irritating visually, that I kind of love the fact that they're actually pretty great. It's more punk than punk.

My enthusiasm has waned but it's still a pretty good record.

this album is expensive and i am a cheapskate. see also: new sun araw record.

vomit is an honest-to-god epic rock song. this last album was great; shame this band split up.

Yes. Haven't heard his solo record. Is it good?

what i've heard is "meh." he apparently needed the band to kick him into a higher gear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLDk4SxbDRw

70s-ish classic rock-type jam. lots of people onstage. that band was big enough to be its own cult.

I wasn't a big fan of the last album but Vomit has become one of my favourite songs of the last few years. I've watched that performance many times. The vocals at the end give me shivers.

my wife watched it with me, and she took special note when the female backing singer stepped to the front of the stage to carry the vocals. the performance was already good, but she elevated it.

Yeah she totally steals the show.

Just watched it again. Incredible stuff.

I liked these guys. They always sounded a lot like "Golden Grimes"-era Further to me.

Golden Grimes is one of my favorite EPs. I don't like Girls though. I'm surprised you made that connection!

RIP Chet "JR" White, one half of Girls.

https://www.stereogum.com/2103041/girls-chet-jr-white-has-died/news/

Christopher Owens posted a really scary video on his youtube channel the other day. Hope he has people looking out for him

It's incredibly sad and grim reading the first post of this thread followed by the last two.