The name of the San Francisco indie-rock duo, Girls, is perfect. The band’s appropriately titled sophomore album, “Father, Son, Holy Ghost,” is divine. With hints of Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and even Beyoncé, lead singer Christopher Owens has composed a surprisingly innovative new album. Each song is meticulously played and harmoniously sung to prove to listeners that Girls have come a long way since their debut lo-fi album, simply entitled “Album.”
Girls’ two key members, Christopher Owens and Chet “JR” White, come together to not only perfect their unique beach-rock sound, but master the sounds of other genres. The song “Die” sounds like the background music for a full-throttle action movie. Owens puts you in the passenger seat of his high-speed rock ’n’ roll car chase. The band then makes dramatic transitions into the quirky doo-wop songs “How Can I Say I Love You” and “Magic.” Finally, we hear the Beyoncé influence in the unidentified female voice that sings arpeggios in the tracks “Love Life” and “Vomit.”
Perhaps one of the most unfitting song titles of all time, “Vomit,” is the most melodically intricate song on the album. It begins with beautiful, solemn chords that hide behind Owens’ reverberating voice, despondently singing “Nights I spend alone / I spend them running ‘round looking for you, baby.” The song continues on lazily until the triumphant ending of lost love finally found once again. “Come into my heart,” he cries.
Owens, who grew up in the infamous Children of God cult, preaches his own sermon in his poetic songs “Just a Song” and “Forgiveness.” The opening lines of “Just a Song” are incredibly pure and genuine, with Owens singing, “It just feels like it’s gone / It seems like nobody’s happy now.”
On “Father, Son, Holy Ghost,” Owens is clearly growing up and observing the world around him. In “Forgiveness,” he gives breathtaking advice to his loneliest of listeners with the lines “Nothing’s gonna get any better / If you don’t have a little hope / In your soul.” One can hear the authenticity and heart in Owens’ profound lyrics. His words are also perfectly complemented by his unforgettable guitar riffs and passionate instrumentals that play on for a large portion of each track.
With their sophomore release, Owens and White have done it again. The music world saw the band’s potential in 2009 with its critically acclaimed debut, “Album,” and now you can expect to fall back in love with the group with “Father, Son, Holy Ghost.” The San Francisco band invents a California-rock sound that upon listening, you’ll feel the urge to lie on a beach and spiritually drift away into oblivion.
Reach the reporter at jocelyn.gee@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
