I like About Girls. It’s a record that reminds me of the time when I first got into music, in the late 1990’s, and went to shows. It was a time when Britpop was dying and the last of the scene was coming through. The likes of the Warm Jets and Gay Dad. It’s a time that most people look back on with regret and perhaps a little bit of a snigger. Nobody’s going to describe being there in the same way they do as San Francisco in the 60’s or New York in 1977 but, d’you know what – it’s my Hacienda and I rather like it.
About Girls captures the post-Britpop sound brilliantly. It’s a better effort than their debut,You Dig The Tunnel, I’ll Hide The Soil, released in 2009 which tried to hard and had too much going on. About Girls is a less complicated and straightforward album. Less try-hard. Nobody likes a try-hard. The album works best when played as a complete album in the order it was intended. I’ve listened to this album a dozen or so times and it sounds best when you turn shuffle off on your mp3 player and play it from 1-13 with each song telling the next chapter of the story.
It begins with NY Girl, the archetypal tale of lost love, which could be Olympian-era Gene and with its driving bassline it begins with a confidence and swagger, which dissipates as the song goes on and it becomes clear this won’t end well. Nicola Tells Me is a slice of Shed Seven-esque jangly pop, Lois Lane is built entirely around a beautiful swooning bass. Little Savage appears to have borrowed heavily from the Johnny Borrell songbook but setting that aside is two and a half minutes of nice catchy hooky pop. Escape From London is that moment, committed to tape, where once in a while you need to escape the business of living in the big city and run to the hills.
About Girls isn’t just a record that’s borrowed heavily from the dying days of Britpop, it’s a record that’s the soundtrack to your emotions. Every emotion. It’s about growing up, something the band have clearly done on this record. It’s about life. It’s about love. It’s about loss. It’s about whatever emotion you want it to be, it’s got everything on here. Buy it and enjoy it and whatever you do don’t put it on shuffle!
About Girls is released on 2nd April 2012 by Fierce Panda Records