record review: Girls - Album

When you study literature, you learn about something called New Criticism. It emerged in the ‘20’s and was essentially the idea that one should be able to read a piece of poetry or prose without any information about the author or even know who the author is. In this way, they could judge the piece on its quality rather than with preconceived ideas of whether or not it should be great.

When I embarked on my journey to Album, I unknowingly took the opposite route. I first read multiple articles( in magazines like SPIN and all over the blogosphere) about how singer/songwriter Christopher Owens was raised in a cult, had a tumultuous childhood that lacked proper nurturing, and then proceeded to write an album to help himself move on and leave his dark past behind.

There were two things that really got me to want to hear the music. The first one was a quote in his SPIN interview, where he said that he wanted to be a great songwriter like John Lennon. This really struck me strongly, because he was obviously serious about music and actually wanted to create a legacy. I really respected that. The second thing that got me to listen to the much-buzzed about album was the ever-quoted set of lyrics from “Lust for Life”: “I wish I had a father, maybe then I would have turned out right…I wish I had a suntan, I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine”. The careless juxtaposition of the two desires was strikingly honest and refreshing. It really proved that Owens no longer dwelt on the past, but looked to the present and future for brighter prospects. Or at least the ever comforting distraction provided by alcohol and an interesting group of friends.

Girls are from San Francisco, and their debut LP Album is one of the most eclectic offerings of the year. The album is obviously derivative, but not boring or unoriginal. It does really interesting things with music that already been perfected, and adds in the occasional clap or tambourine shake every now and then just for good measure.

Owens sings like a scratchier but noticeably less bitter Elvis Costello who was raised in the California sun. Album opener “Lust for Life” is clearly the best song of the bunch, and simultaneously more cheerful and heartbreaking than Costello’s “Alison”. The short song (just under 2:30) sounds like a day spent being intoxicated at the beach, with the wind in your hair and being liberated by the ocean. It’s a good thing it was placed first, because it makes way for the rest of the songs, which flow together like a Pacific Ocean filled with heartache and hangovers.

“Big Bad Mean Mother Fucker” is a fun song because it’s like a Beach Boys song for a slightly cynical adolescent audience. “Headache” screams of the sexy depressed music which Jarvis Cocker perfected in Pulp, and “Morning Light” evidently looks to My Bloody Valentine for inspiration.

The one uniting theme is the feeling of partial nostalgia evoked in the songs. I say partial nostalgia because—background information or not—it is obvious that Christopher Owens is ready to move on. The songs are like a final goodbye—to the past, to our demons, to the summer.

Try not to let this album break your heart, because it probably will. Just remember, Owens has created a soundtrack to a renewal, and wants to reconcile—not dwell on what could have been.

Highly recommended.
4.5/5

Album was released today, buy it HERE