Girls frontman Christopher Owens grew up in the Children of God cult. His older brother died as a baby because the cult didn't believe in medical attention. His dad left. He and his mother lived around the world, and the cult sometimes forced his mother to prostitute herself. As a teenager, Owens fled and lived as a Texas gutter-punk for a while. Then a local millionaire took Owens under his wing, and Owens moved to San Francisco. There, he and Chet "JR" White formed Girls, and recorded Album, their debut album, under the influence of just about every kind of pill they could find.
Created by two genuine outsiders and made with a refreshing lack of irony, Album is a welcome addition to the very best albums of 2009.
One of the year’s most special albums, and one packed with far too much hurt to be digested in one listen.
It’s better to approach Album not as what its title offers, but a collection of singles. These are the new rock ’n’ roll 45s, variations of the same sad pop song shone through the prism of a guy who’s survived his own unique heartache.
These cracked ballads, hard-hitting anthems and freakily innocent Californian pop moments all come with fuzzy, ethereal, sun-soaked sounds, and White’s production evokes a magical sonic world.
‘Album’ lurches bizarrely from the heart-rending to the goofy to the simply spaced-out, but what it lacks in polish it makes up for with buckets of charm.
Not much about Girls is original but they put their alchemy of sound through a sunshine filter and bring it out the other side and end up sounding unique and blissful.
Even if Album doesn’t turn out to be all it’s been made out to be by the reams of hype already bestowed upon it, it’s certainly working at the moment.
As unconventional musical ensembles go, Girls must surely register at the top of the pile when it comes to spontaneous muddled creations that confound any kind of pre-conceived expectations. Much loved by both the New York art-rock fraternity and UK underground indie scenes alike, this San Francisco duo and their assorted helping hands have somehow managed to conjure up an Album that doesn't just hop between genres at random like an overexcited rabbit, but actually creates its own guessing game in the process, enticing the listener into a rabid frenzy of self-doubt. "What will come next?" indeed.
On Girls' debut, he's made peace with his past and crafted ace tunes to go with his tales of redemption.
In the wave of gutter-minded bedroom pranksters, Girls are a clear standout- more ambitious than Wavves, more dynamic than Vivian Girls. Owens is a songwriter who knows exactly which buttons to push and when, and his ability to mine genres.
Don’t get me wrong, Album’s best songs (Lust for Life, Laura, and Hellhole Ratrace) are utterly essential, but take these out of the equation and there’s really very little to get excited about. Unless you count the band’s back-story, that is.
RIP to Chet JR White. Very sad news.
Was/am a huge fan of girls, saw them live several times and completely wore out their records back in the day. I wouldn't have been terribly surprised to see if Chris Owens died (due to his drug usage), but this is actually a surprise.
Also worth noting that the 4 songs that served as b-sides to the singles for Album are all excellent.
Solitude, Life in San Francisco, Oh Boy, End Of The World
having lots of turmoil in your life can sometimes help you hear certain records in a different way. boy, does this one hit home now. two albums and an EP doesn't represent much output but this is an overwhelming case of quality over quantity.
Such an endearing and emotional record, that is filled with sweet melodic sounds. The front-man of this band Christopher Owens brings much conviction with his song-writing, which at times can be spirited and other times bitter-sweet. If you know the back story of Owen's you know how much of a troubled life he had. You can hear with the sounds of the album of a worship to the beach boys or the ventures especially a track like "Big bad mean mother fucker" a surfer-rock sound. Other than ... read more
One of the most underrated albums of all time. Its an album about maturity. Lust for life talks about the youthful feeling where the world is endless. However deeper cuts like Hellhole Ratrace talk about fears of missing out.
I've always been intrigued by how much Christopher Owens' love for Elvis and San Francisco really shines through on his recordings. Even though Girls popped off in the indie rock era, I felt like there was no one else really doing it quite like they were. Girls' right strings and a whole lot of love and loneliness really separates their sound from the rest of this time. There is so much sentiment seeping through on 'Album' which kicks off with the timeless "Lust for Life", a must hear ... read more
I'm sorry but I just can't get over the singer's voice it's so offputting and I think it ruins an otherwise great album.
1 | Lust For Life 2:25 | 84 |
2 | Laura 4:51 | 82 |
3 | Ghost Mouth 3:11 | 73 |
4 | God Damned 2:17 | 64 |
5 | Big Bad Mean Motherfucker 2:15 | 70 |
6 | Hellhole Ratrace 6:56 | 84 |
7 | Headache 4:00 | 76 |
8 | Summertime 5:39 | 76 |
9 | Lauren Marie 4:58 | 71 |
10 | Morning Light 2:36 | 69 |
11 | Curls 2:08 | 70 |
12 | Darling 2:59 | 69 |
#5 | / | Spin |
#6 | / | Amazon |
#6 | / | Stereogum |
#9 | / | PopMatters |
#10 | / | Pitchfork |
#13 | / | Treble |
#15 | / | No Ripcord |
#15 | / | Rolling Stone |
#16 | / | Complex |
#17 | / | NME |