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The third Vivian Girls Lp finds them breaking away from the sped-up, ultra-distorted but yet super catchy punk-ish indie-pop that dominated their first two Lps and numerous singles. On a new label and with new drummer Fiona Campbell after Ali Koehler left to join Best Coast last year, they showcase a slowed-down, mostly mid-tempo sound much more in thrall to melody and explicitly channeling everything from the guitar heroics of Greg Sage (on the opening track, the over six-minute long “The Other Girls”) to a sardonic, humorous take on the ’60s girl group era (“Take It As It Comes”, not to be confused with the song of the same name by The Doors).
Other highlights include a completely reworked version of “Death”, a song I’d previously heard on a Daytrotter Session and as the B-side of the 2009 7” “Moped Girls”, and “Lake House”, another song that they’ve had percolating since early 2009
For me, this album was a real grower. I’ll be honest here. I was really disappointed with it at first. It took me four listens just to like it given how much I love their earlier sound and how drastic of a change this is. Yet like Echo and the Bunnymen with Ocean Rain or TSOL with Beneath the Shadows, this is a change that’s ultimately for the better. I somehow think that fans who dismiss it after the first listen or two will miss out and this Lp may even make them some new fans who found the earlier records too raw and noisy for their taste.
