Music Review: Broken Dreams Club EP by Girls gives fans a taste of summer
Sabrina Barekzai
Contributing Writer
Though Girls’ lead singer Christopher Owens was raised in a Children of God cult, it’s not evident on the band’s “Broken Dreams Club EP.” After releasing “Album” in Sept. 2009 to critical indie-rock acclaim, (Pitchfork’s verdict was a 9.1 of 10), the San Francisco natives headlined a US tour. Needless to say, “Broken Dreams Club,” released on Nov. 22 as a way of saying thanks to devoted fans, was pretty up there; and Girls delivered.
The mellow surf rock of “Broken Dreams Club” sound comes off as charmingly earnest rather than trying-too-hard, which is no easy feat. They perfectly marry the sounds of an idealistic image of sunny California with the tongue-in-cheek reality check in their lyrics. There’s something so soothing about Christopher Owens’s voice on “Broken Dreams Club.” Whatever seemed unpolished and lazy on “Album” has been tuned up and matured on this EP which perfectly highlights Owens’s soothing, sweetly-sad voice.
Owens is also chief-songwriter and sticks to the same bag of tricks that worked on “Album”: simple lyrics of longing to be loved. Though the lyrics may seem stationary, a driving dedication to experimenting with new elements is clear on a track like “Alright.” The EP is nicely closed out with the nearly-8 minute “Carolina,” a catchy, fuzzy number. This psychedelic theme is well-played on “Broken Dreams Club “and leaves a wide-open door to what’s in the future for Girls.
“Broken Dreams Club” may have all the right qualifications of the perfect summer album, but their stellar jangle-pop sound makes it a great album year-round.
Grade: B
