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Community Media Center
2011-11-21
Nick's Picks: 03 Die; 06 Vomit; 10 Love Like A River FCC ALERT: Track 3 "Die" " Review by Steven "Nick" Nickelson of Girls Father, Son, Holy Ghost: After listening for a few hours, I notice that I can draw some similarities between Girls and Wilco. Perhaps it may be just the vocal range and inflection; however, I have to believe Christopher Owens somehow picked up on Wilco (“Magic”, “Forgiveness”, “Love Like A River”), as well as Death Cab For Cutie (“Alex”, “Just A Song”), with a hint of Pink Floyd (“My Ma”, “Vomit”). But right out of the gate, we get what some critics have noted – a Beach Boys' influenced intro (“Honey Bunny”). Cutting to the third song (“Die”), I can detect no influences; yet, this is the absolutely best played/arranged song on the entire cd. This cd could be oh so much greater if all songs were as carefully crafted and performed as this song. The very last cut on this release starts off so simply and develops into a beautiful love song (“Jamie Marie”), so it also diverges somewhat from this (mostly) derivative release. This band definitely has the talent to go places, and the music on this release most emphatically verifies that. Would I buy this cd? Most likely. And that's my two nickels' worth..........................................Nick ARTIST BIO: Girls is an indie rock band from San Francisco, California. Made up of two key members, Christopher Owens who is the main writer and Chet "JR" White who plays bass and produces. The band's lead singer, Christopher Owens, is a former member of the Children of God cult. The New York Times compared the band's sound to Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly, and The Beach Boys.[1] Upon arriving in San Francisco (via Amarillo, Texas), Owens met White, a Bay Area native who was raised in Santa Cruz, California. White began recording bands in his parents' garage. Upon meeting, the two developed a strong bond and interest in similar music, as well as a shared background in Punk/Hardcore music. Shortly thereafter Owens and White started recording what was to later be their debut album, titled Album. A former member of the band Holy Shit with Ariel Pink and Matt Fishbeck,[2] in an interview with Exclaim! magazine, Owens related much of how being part of the Children of God cult informed his childhood and his music. While there, he was not allowed to listen to music from outside the group, but was allowed to watch movies from which he absorbed music like Queen and Guns N' Roses. Girls' Album is an "overflow of expression", as Owens could do whatever he liked on the album without worry for boundaries.[3] The band released their second full length album Father, Son, Holy Ghost on September 9, 2011 in UK/Europe and on September 13 in the USA. On July 20, 2011, they released "Vomit" from their upcoming album as a free download. This was followed by a video of the same song in August. "Honey Bunny" is the second cut off the record and will receive a proper single release in vinyl and other formats. Besides its two official members the band has recorded and/or toured with: Ryan William Lynch, Garett Godard, Matthew Kallman, Darren Weiss, Dan Eisenberg, John Anderson. The Band: ・ Christopher Owens – songwriter, vocals, acoustic guitar ・ Chet JR White – producer, bass Contributing Musicians: ・ Jimmy Bowland – saxophone ・ Samantha Hegberg – backisng vocals (track 5) ・ Dave Isaacs – electric and accoustic guitar, backing vocals ・ Ryan Joseph – fiddle ・ Fats Kaplin – pedal steel ・ Will Kimbrough – mandolin, electric guitar ・ Scott Miller – electric guitar
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