The Girls are yet another band hitching their wagon to the '80s revival. In this case, the group wants to sound like
the Cars mixed with
the Buzzcocks mixed with that one band from "everytown U.S.A." that you were sure was going to make it big but never had that one song they needed to break out. The sound on their self-titled debut album is so derivative and mannered that it is almost painful to listen to. The guitarists are ham-handed, the singer is artlessly tuneless, and the tempos are plodding at best. All of which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the scarcity of hooks on
The Girls. Even though most of the songs sound like they were already released 25 years ago, not a single song sticks in the memory. Halfway through the disc you are already wondering what to put on next, which is not a very good thing, in fact, it is possibly the worst thing you could say about an album. The best thing about the record is the running time: ten songs in 30 minutes is just about the perfect time for an album. At least they got that right. ~ Tim Sendra