ACL Artist Profile: Girls
Last year, before they'd even released a record, the back story of Girls frontman Christopher Owens had become the subject of interminable blog palaver, pop-psychologizing and myth-making. It is a compelling narrative: Owens was a second-generation member in the Children of God cult, before running away at sixteen. His dad left, his brother died, and at times his mother was forced to prostitute herself to entice new members into the cult. After leaving, he lived as a Texas gutter-punk until landing with a West Texas millionaire; he then moved to San Francisco, played in some punk bands, met local musician and producer JR White, and recorded an album with him.
But you don't really need to know any of that - you can hear, in the music released on Girls' debut release, a kind of gnawing loneliness and a wounded yearning to make it go away. Most of the songs on Album are about heartbreak and the things people can do to overcome it. "I don't wanna cry my whole life through; I wanna do some laughing too," Owens croons in "Hellhole Ratrace," the first single. His voice has the soulful, hiccupy shakiness of Buddy Holly and Elvis Costello, with the same straight-to-your-heart lyrics. Musically, the album covers a lot of ground, synthesizing early Beach Boys tunefulness with 1950s shuffle, country-rock and power-pop. It's a woozy, jagged pastiche that, when coupled with Owens's bygone-era voice, sounds beamed in by some AM radio DJ who's rearranging all the hits of the '50s, '60s and '70s into something new and exciting.
Now a five-piece, Girls are currently working on their follow-up record, so you're sure to hear a healthy slate of new songs when they take the stage on Friday at 3pm. Check out the video for "Lust for Life" here.
