Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost review

Posted on 14 September 2011
By Matt Barden
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‘They don’t like my bony body/They don’t like my dirty hair/Or the stuff that I say/Or the stuff that I’m on,’ Girl’s lead singer Christopher Owen chirps on opening track Honey Bunny, which threatens to break into a full Beach Boys-esque psych/surf song at any moment.

The truth is that after the group’s second offering they’re going to be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t like the bony, dirty-haired lead singer’s stuff.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost seems a bit disjointed at first, made up as it is of traditional Pop, Gospel, soul, rock and a few more genres for good measure.

Instead the sprawling changes in style and mood just go to show how Girls can handle any genre they turn their hands to.

Die is a loving ode to early metal but is quickly followed by Saying I Love You that harks back to the days of a young McCartney.

You get the impression that Owens and bass player JR White had fun while making this album. The songs have an expansive freedom about them.

From the bouncy, playful pop sound of Magic to the emotional 8 minute rollercoaster ride of Forgiveness, their music will have you smiling one minute and grimly staring out the window the next.

Standout track Vomit starts as a bleak ode that Radiohead would be proud of, but quickly grows into huge organ backed gospel fuelled experience.

Owens is a gifted songwriter. He packs lyrics full of self-deprecation and emotional turmoil, stemming from a rough childhood (he grew up as a member of the Children of God cult). But the cheerless lyrics that are a dime a dozen in today’s Indie scene, seem fresh coming from the San Francisco based duo.

And this is the key to Father, Son, Holy Ghost. They manage to take styles we’ve become accustomed to and spin them in a new and catchy way. Sure Love Like a River sounds like a 40s doo-wop joint, but at the same time it sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before.

Girls have made an album that owes a lot to the music of decades gone by, but still sounds modern, and will no doubt be jostling for a lofty position on Album of the Year lists come December.

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