Sasquatch 2010 Preview: Let’s Talk About Girls
Sasquatch 2010 Preview
Let’s Talk About Girls
San Francisco duo Girls burst onto the scene in 2009, blowing up the blogosphere with the same efficiency as a Lindsay Lohan drug confession. Only, the attention paid to Girls was based not on tabloid gossip, but rather the pure unadulterated bliss of their hazy California pop sound. Quite simply, Girls made a killer debut album.
The sound of Album (yes, that’s what they called the thing) has a warm sheen to it, with just enough roughness around the edges to give the listener something new with each spin. A handful of songs are catchy as all get out – most notably album opener “Lust for Life” – but what really sticks in the craw is frontman Christopher Owens’ go-for-broke vocal delivery. He manages to be both goofy and incredibly sincere at the same time, and sells every single lyric like he’s working on commission.
This commitment to singing from the heart is what separates Girls from more generic pop bands that get by mostly on hooks and melody. And the straightforward lyrics don’t hurt either. Like Daniel Johnston, Owens can pull off lines that seem too simple and obvious to lay to tape. In “Lust for Life” Owens emotes, “I wish I had a suntan, I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine. I wish I had a beach house, and we could make a big fire every night.” Now that’s something we can all relate to. It seems so obvious now, but it took Girls to put those thoughts to music.
Album is full of these moments, which is why it holds up so well. Owens and his partner in crime JR White have put together a memorable collection of songs laced with heartbreak, confusion, and hope. It’s the type of stuff we can all get lost in, and with their disheveled 60’s surf-pop vibe, Girls make the journey much more fun than your average nostalgia-induced mind trip. 
Girls play Sunday, May 30 @ 7 p.m. on the Bigfoot Stage