Girls: Broken Dreams Club EP

This is an album I reviewed by choice that will hopefully end up on the Boulder Radio web page. It is not a a DJ review. When the San Francisco based band Girls dropped their debut album, curiously titled Album in September of 2009, I had it playing in my car, in my headphones, and on my stereo on repeat with no relief. The album turned into a guilty pleasure of mine and I’m not afraid to admit that I was obsessed with Chris Owens silky voice and his simple and sensitive ways of expressing pain and heartache. His dark history with the notorious Children of God Cult and rumors of heavy narcotic abuse attracted me to his persona even more. I enjoy all genres of music and I like to change whats playing on my stereo quite often but with Girl’s Album there was no need for any such change. At the time Girls was all I needed to get through the day. On the album’s songs, Chris Owens preaches about the world of loss and misery, but as the album progresses he insures that pain is always accompanied by shimmers of hope and chances of fresh love. However no matter how much I enjoy an album there will always be a tipping point; every lyric has become subconsciously memorized and every guitar riff recognized and you have no choice but to remove the needle. That is why when Girls released their new EP titled Broken Dreams Club, I was ecstatic to say the least. Over the past year, Girls have been traveling and playing shows all over the nation, which has given the band an opportunity to grow and develop. Broken Dreams Club is a prime example of the band’s progression and although the songs may be more polished and recorded with more care then the somewhat shaky, lo-fi songs off of their debut Album, they are still the same band that I remember falling in love with a year earlier. The six songs on the album consist of the same restless and moody vocals that lightly float over mellow, classic rock melodies. However in this EP the evolution of the band is apparent with Owen's experimentation with song texture by incorporating short bursts of horns, psychedelic reverbs and even faint sounds of piano. Girls announced that Broken Dreams Club is nothing more then a snapshot of what is to expect from the group in the future and is a simple attempt to portray the bands development since Album. The EP is Owens way of thanking all of his loyal fans that have supported his career over the past year. Well I'd like to say that you are welcome Girls and thank you for recording some of the most comforting and calming music I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Keep the Jams coming.