San Fransisco–based Band, Girls, Wows Fans

Christopher Owens and Chet JR White of the band Girls have gone from San Francisco free–spirits to world-renowned musicians in a matter of a few years. As one of the biggest San Francisco native bands at the moment, Girls made a stop on their tour to perform for their hometown at the Great American Music Hall on October 9.

With the release of their newest album Father, Son, Holy Ghost, the duo has blown away fans and received an abundance of praise from the critical realm. Although the band’s first release, Album, and their second, Broken Dreams Club EP, were very gripping and impressive, their newest album stepped the production up a level. Along with the impressive quality of the recordings, artist duo Owens and White created an album with much more focus, meaning, and cohesiveness than before.

I once heard someone say, “Great music knows no genre.” One unique thing about the band Girls is that their music is unclassifiable: listening to only a few songs, people might say that they’re lo–fi surf–punk and then they’ll crank out the best psychedelic slow–core folk ballad that you’ve ever heard, complete with back–up singers. On Father, Girls opens up with “Honey Bunny,” an instant classic. It’s a catchy song with a fun, California vibe. The almost entirely upbeat song has an interlude in which song-writer Owens references his gratitude towards his mother, despite her involvement in the infamous Children of God cult during his childhood, which is later echoed again in “My Ma’.” On “Die,” White and Owens master their first attempt at a harder all–out rock and roll song inspired by the early Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.” In the song “Vomit,” the slow and earnest croon of Owens’ voice leads up to a climactic gospel ballad finale as he illustrates looking for love and making mistakes that have already been made. Despite these songs being fantastic, it seems as if the entire album is building up to the one song: “Forgiveness.” With heartbreaking, earnest lyrics and a complex song structure, this tale of redemption has the ability to render any listener speechless.

Some people may say that Girls is bedroom music (a.k.a. music to listen to alone in your room), but as they exhibitedat the Great American Music Hall, they are fully capable of captivating a live audience. Despite Owens’ surprisingly coy stage presence for a front man, Girls enchanted the sold-out room. Before they got on stage, a crew of roadies armed with bouquets of flowers decorated the mic stands and keyboard. Opening with the catchy single “Honey Bunny,” the sing–along quality of their music instantly hooked fans and satisfied the craving for good music that everyone had been waiting for.

Along with some other up–beat, fun songs, the show started out strong. Girls transitioned with ease between fun Beach Boys–esque singles to eight minute shoegaze numbers. The three sensational back–up singers got a lot of attention for their gospel vocals, especially during the solo on “Vomit” where one of the singers joined Owens at the front of the stage and belted out one of the most soulful performances I have seen in a long time. At the very end, even after their premeditated yet impressive encore, Girls left the audience feeling as if they had witnessed something miraculous.