For a band with such a mild-mannered sound, San Francisco’s Girls sure are divisive. For every person who heralds their debut album as a classic, there’s someone else dismissing it as crushingly mediocre.
For a band with such a mild-mannered sound, San Francisco’s Girls sure are divisive. For every person who heralds their debut album as a classic, there’s someone else dismissing it as crushingly mediocre. Although Album was one my personal favourites of 2009, it did take a while to fully grow on me. An initial listen to the new Broken Dreams Club EP is a fair reminder why: for every masterful song, there’s one that doesn’t quite sparkle. So, despite it’s cheerful, summery blast of horns, it’s not the opening The Oh So Protective One that will reel you in with exotic promise. Nor is it the Nashville-tinged title track, or the even most upbeat song on here, Alright. So far, so – well, just alright.
The remaining trio of songs – the instantly likable Heartbreaker, surf-rock ballad Substance and the slow-building epic Carolina – more than make up for any lackluster moments and almost push the overall quality up to the same level of their album. This is a cleaner, calmer recording – thanks to the band’s success, there’s more cash to ply on production values and there’s also a more settled feel to Owen’s ramshackle melody-making.
This EP embraces Girls’ softer side and, considering we were heavily weighted with slow jams on the album, the consistently low tempo could easily have been a disappointment. And yet it works to great effect, mostly due to the brooding intensity simmering beneath songs like Carolina. Despite an obvious vocal rip from last album’s Hellhole Ratrace, this escapist finale is a stunning composition – their best yet – and promises great things for the next LP proper. Owens is maturing, but he’s still wearing his broken heart on his sleeve.
