(Matador)
RECOMMENDED
Disclosure: I have yet to hear Girls' debut LP Album. No particular reason for that. I just missed its moment and now it's waiting in the queue. But I can always spare a few minutes for a 12" or EP so I thought I'd use this as a taster. Only problem is, having not heard the full album, I can't comment properly on how much of a departure it is. But I can say it's far from what I expected, and seems to be a radical personality change compared to the lo-fi flamboyance that shot these Californians onto the hip scene last year.
Broken Dreams Club wins me over immediately with "The Oh So Protective One," a lovely, lilting Everly Brothers pastiche that fits well with the '50s-centered wanderings of the Walkmen and Deerhunter this year. It's not merely that it's a beautiful throwback; it's exceptionally heartfelt and well-written. Nearly as good is the jangling, wistful "Heartbreaker." The four tracks that follow expand on the mood admirably, peaking and cresting with the lazily charming seven-minute "Carolina."
With shades of calypso, gentle power pop, and lovelorn country, this lush little EP presents surprising eclecticism and reach for its thirty-minute length, even if none of its songs reach out and grab like the two openers. Regardless of your familiarity or opinion of Girls, I bet you'll find something to treasure here.
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