Wednesday, April 13, 2011

VIVIAN GIRLS - Share The Joy (Polyvinyl)

Vivian Girl's third record "Share the Joy" opens with the expected onslaught of guitars and drums before suddenly, and surprisingly, dropping off into the band's most spacious and longest song to date, "The Other Girls." The nearly six and a half minute track finds the band turning down the punk fury of old and patiently producing a slow burner rife with possibilities as limitless as the desert sky. If the cover art to the band's last album "Everything Goes Wrong" had a soundtrack, "The Other Girls" would be it. It's a fairly bold move by a band known for their short bursts of melodic garage punk, and one that denotes a sort of stability that seemed lacking from past releases. If there is one thing that Ian Cohen got right, in his otherwise indefensible review of this record for Pitchfork, it was that when Vivian Girls first burst onto the scene they did sound like they "would nail it the first time, flame out, and then disappear forever." Yet throughout "Share The Joy," the Girls sound more poised, serious and solid than they ever have. "The Other Girls" reflects a certain fortitude that the band began to hint at on "Everything Goes Wrong," but which is fleshed out in full here. Even though most of what follows after the album's epic opener rarely breaks the three minute mark, each song sounds more mature and focused than anything the band has done before. Of course, all of this talk of growth might leave one wondering if the band has lost any of the raw power that made their earlier work so great, and the answer is absolutely not. "Share the Joy" rocks, even as it introduces more dynamics and restraint.

Admittedly, Vivian Girls have always been my favorite among the slew of lo-fi girl groups to have emerged over the last few years. What makes Vivian Girls so special is their no-fuss approach to music. Best Coast are great, but their bubblegum tendencies temper their ability to completely rock. The Dum Dum Girls, while probably the most talented of the bunch in terms of songwriting, sound cold and distant at times, like they don't want to sweat too much least they sully their pristine vintage wear. Vivian Girls, on the other hand, play like they are going for broke, with little regard for fashionable affectation. There is a purity to their sound that simply no one else has.

That purity is evident throughout "Share The Joy," even as the Girls tighten and diversify their sound. For example, the darkly-hued "I Heard You Say" is a more subdued version of the band's garage punk, but what stands out as the song progresses is lead singer Cassie Ramone's emotional vocal work toward the end that soars above the band's trademark harmonies. It's to the bone stuff that joyfully betrays any restraint musically. Album highlight "Lake House" finds the band blasting their way through the track like a proper punk band, but the song's melodicism and the Girl's deft control of harmonies and instrumentation elevate the number far beyond yet another two minute garage song. Then there is the darker, but rollicking, "Trying To Pretend." As Ramone sings "I'm not the one trying to pretend," although her words are directed to a lover, they could easily be taken as the band's raison d'ĂȘtre. Each song contains the raw strength of their earlier work, but it's all slightly more polished, toughened-up and taut as a result of natural progression, and not because of the over-reaching or re-invention that some bands succumb to at this stage in their career, often to disastrous effect.

The band spends the second half of the album turning in more melodic and diverse tracks that mix in elements of 60s girl-group, the spooky garage rock of Dead Moon, and even a bit of humour as evident on the wink wink, nudge nudge of "Take It As It Comes." The Girls sound more relaxed and confident than ever on tracks like "Sixteen Ways" and "Death" making good on the promise of "The Other Girls." The band return to the six minute mark with the epic closer "Light In Your Eyes," a track that combines all of the elements the band have been cultivating throughout "Share The Joy." It's dark, punky, melodic, spacious and pretty much perfect. When it's over it's hard not to flip the record over and begin the journey again. And it is a journey, but one that you don't realize you've been on until you come to the end of the album. That is because there is a sort of buzzy transcendence that gradually builds from song to song that finally culminates on "Light In Your Eyes." Although every track stands completely on its own, once you step back from the individual pieces and view the record as a whole, you notice an undeniable arc to "Share The Joy," that makes it even greater than the sum of its parts.

This certainly doesn't sound like a band ready to flame out, instead "Share The Joy" finds Vivian Girls progressing perfectly toward becoming something truly great.

"I Heard You Say"


"Lake House" live


"Sixteen Ways" live

1 comment:

  1. Now this reviw is right on the money! Vivian Girls ROCK and "Share the Joy" is amazing! Well done sir!
    -Eric Chicago

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