I’ve been listening to this album pretty solidly for two or
three weeks now (post-laneway), and have spent much of that time trying to
figure out what classic – or at least older – acts Girls reminds me of, but I’m
increasingly thinking that maybe there are no particular influences
or touchstones here, but rather a general vibe taking in a whole heap of iconic,
mostly guitar-y outfits from the 60s and the 70s (Beatles, Beach Boys, and Big
Star, to name just a few, though really it’s the general backdrop of which they’re crucial parts,
rather than those three bands themselves) with dashes of a more modern
guitar-rock sound as well as a surprising folky strand.
It’s a compelling mixture,
and a strong record – high points are the driving, catchy “Alex” (the scything
Manic Street Preachers-style guitars are what really make it), the wistful, slightly
countrified “My Ma”, “Vomit”, with its gasped/blared ‘looking for love’
refrain, the most anthemic indie-rock anthem I’ve heard in a while, and the pastoral epic “Just A Song”.
