GIRLS - Album

Girls are led by Christopher Owens, apparently raised in a twisted religious cult but now finding redemption these days in pre-grunge/late-'80s-leaning alternative rock. Owens has learned well from the tortured vocals of Charlie Sexton, who made the girls swoon with his rock’n’roll swagger and androgynous pretty-boy image. Like the Jesus And Mary Chain circa Honey’s Dead, Girls prefer to keep things direct, without the trappings of studio trickery, aside from some Spector-esque reverb when they hint at girl-group influences. There are two potential (in an ideal world) hits here: “Laura” is a perfectly sugary pastiche of Elvis Costello and west coast pop, and “Hellhole Ratrace” takes the aforementioned JAMC sound, but adds the moodiness of The Church. Both songs are totally familiar-sounding, but refreshingly somewhat out of step with current trends.