Sometime in the last twelve months, Girls got good. They were good last July when I saw them at both Market Hotel and Glasslands, but but there was a ramshackle vibe that felt like they weren't sure whether they were really ready to leave the bedroom. But at Mercury lounge they are really good. Like "Whoa what happened" good. Credit new drummer (all loosey-goosey Keith Moon fills) and a nimble-fingered lead guitarist for the transformation. Christopher Owens and Chet White have always had the songs, mind you. In a lot of ways Girls are the ultimate San Francisco band: the laid-back vibe, the folky jammy-ness that has always been present there, as well as the neo-psych scene that has popped up over the last ten years. But it's totally different than the garage scene of Thee Oh Sees or Ty Segall (with whom they play at Cake Shop on Saturday). Girls are working on a whole other plain of dreamy, hazy beauty and noise.
MP3: Girls – Morning Light
Girls play tonight with Real Estate and Kurt Vile. Tomorrow, Girls are at Cake Shop with the awesome Ty Segall and Charlie & the Moonhearts. You're a dummy if you miss them this time around. Girls self-titled debut drops September 22 on True Panther Sounds and it includes the great new song "All Right" which was probably last night's highlight.