Run, Don't Walk

Girl Loves Distortion - You Better Run, Your Highness (2009, Etxe records)

DC's own Girl Loves Distortion has done it again.

On 2008's Earth Beings on Exhibit, GLD set a new high-water mark for artistic excellence. This time they've aimed even higher, and succeeded.

The new album is all killer and no filler.

On You Better Run, GLD fuses piano, organ, mellotron and synths with lo-fi guitars, drums & bass to create a mindbending musical stew that is smart, fun, and just downright musical. Imagine if The Byrds had drawn their influences from The Minutemen instead of Bob Dylan.

There are beautiful harmonies and soaring guitar leads to draw the listener in, and enough abstraction in the lyrics to hold up to repeated listening. The band's playful aggression keeps the mood light without being silly, and dark without being morose.

The opening cuts, "Weighing" and "UFOs" are reminiscent of everything that's good about bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement.

But it's with tracks 3 and 4 where the fun really begins. The title track is absolutely hypnotic. The trio works together, like a musical Voltron, slaying rock 'n' roll cliches with a guitar attack. Without a doubt, it's the finest instrumental cut of 2009. There's alot going on in these songs. Girl Loves Distortion puts so much care into making records that they're almost "retro." "Dick and/or Jane" has a nasty, X-rated groove and a face-melting organ solo. The closing track, "Ascend," does just that as Jenn, Steve and Chris prove that rock and roll can still save your life.

*****

You can purchase the record here.

You can read my review of the GLD's first album, Earth Beings on Exhibit, here.