Girls
Album (True Panther Sounds)

Girls frontman Christopher Owens knows a thing or two about depression. The bulk of the San Francisco group’s debut finds him dealing with loneliness, drugged-out escapism, and the occasional crying jag. That said, the singer is at least trying to look on the brighter side of life. “You’ve got to smile, no matter how hard it can be to do,” he croons atop the sun-soaked, beachside gospel organs of “Lauren Marie”. And for the most part, Album’s pop hooks hide how low Owens really feels. Jangling lo-fi guitars shimmer throughout “Lust for Life”, where Owens dreams of pizza, a bitchin’ tan, and a bottle of wine, but the peppy tune also finds him wishing he had a dad who had raised him right.

Thankfully, there are a few moments of joy on Album. Terrifically trashy Beach Boys tribute “Big Bad Mean Motherfucker” rocks hard via Chet JR White’s washed-out surf solos, doo-wop melodies, and lyrics about crushing on California cuties. Sadly, Girls is at its best when Owens is at his worst. Slow-burning centrepiece “Hellhole Ratrace” is a bittersweet ode to the promise of better days. Kicking off quietly with a melancholic mélange of sleigh bells and lightly brushed acoustic guitar, it ultimately lunges into a heady wall of distortion. “I don’t want to cry my whole life through/I want to do some laughing too,” a dejected Owens pleads. Though it comes across as achingly beautiful, you can’t help but hope that the singer gets his life together by album number two.

Download This: “Hellhole Ratrace”