Album (Girls album)

Album
Studio album by
Girls
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2009
Recorded2008
GenreIndie pop, indie rock, surf rock, jangle pop, dream pop
Length44:17
LabelTrue Panther Sounds
ProducerChet "JR" White
Girls chronology
Album
(2009) 		Broken Dreams Club
(2010)
Singles from Album
  1. "Hellhole Ratrace"
    Released: July 6, 2009
  2. "Lust for Life"
    Released: September 7, 2009
  3. "Laura"
    Released: November 9, 2009
  4. "Morning Light"
    Released: February 22, 2010

Album is the debut album by American band Girls. It was released September 22, 2009 on True Panther Sounds.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[2]
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. Club B+[4]
The Guardian[5]
Mojo[6]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[7]
NME9/10[8]
Pitchfork9.1/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Uncut[12]

Initial critical response to Album was extremely positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 80, based on 22 reviews.[1] Tom Breihan of Pitchfork writes, "Album is mostly sunny Beach Boys pastiche, but it's not the kajillionth indie attempt at orchestral Pet Sounds majesty. Rather, it's simple and forthright early Beach Boys stuff: compact guitar-jangles, sha-la-la harmonies, muffled heartbeat drums. It sounds great."[9] Jason Lymangrover of AllMusic states, "As a whole, everything's relaxed and dreamy, perfectly matching the '70s aesthetic of their videos: washed out with overexposed sun streaks and a Crayola watercolor palette."[3] Will Dean of The Guardian says, "The duo combine deceptively simple chords and patterns with hazy walls of feedback, Californian pop melodies, surf guitars and Owens's dozy vocal style – which sounds like he's answering a question you asked him yesterday. The result is glorious."[5]

Accolades

Album was awarded the fifth spot on Spin magazine's best albums of 2009 list[13] and tenth on Pitchfork's "The Top 50 Albums of 2009" list.[14] Pitchfork also awarded it "Best New Music" upon release.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Christopher Owens, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Lust for Life"2:25
2."Laura"4:51
3."Ghost Mouth"3:11
4."God Damned"2:17
5."Big Bad Mean Motherfucker"2:15
6."Hellhole Ratrace"6:56
7."Headache"4:00
8."Summertime"5:39
9."Lauren Marie"4:58
10."Morning Light"2:36
11."Curls"2:08
12."Darling"2:59
Australia and Brazil bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Solitude"3:44
14."Life in San Francisco"2:21
Korea and Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Solitude"3:44
14."Oh Boy!"2:41
15."Life in San Francisco"2:21
16."End of the World" (writers: Arthur Kent, Sylvia Dee)3:35

Personnel

Adapted from Discogs.[15]

  • Chet "JR" White – producer, bass guitar
  • Tom Marzella – drums (track 10)
  • Garett Godard – drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, 12)
  • Myles Benham Cooper – beach sounds (track 7)
  • Christopher Owens – cover art, girls photos
  • Sandy Kim – band photography
  • John Goodmansos – mixing
  • John Golden – mastering

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[16] 136
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[17] 24
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] 3

As of 2012 the album has sold 50,000 copies in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[19]

Release history

Country Date Label Format Catalogue #
United States September 22, 2009 True Panther Sounds CD TRUE-010
LP TRUE-010-1
United Kingdom September 28, 2009 Fantasytrashcan CD FANTASY003
LP FANTASY003LP
Australia October 10, 2009 Pod/Inertia CD (with 2 bonus tracks) PODCD0735
Japan October 21, 2009 Turnstile/Fantasytrashcan CD (with 4 bonus tracks) YRCG-90027
Brazil June 28, 2010 Lab 344 CD (with 2 bonus tracks) 5051083047111

References

  1. ^ a b c "Reviews for Album by Girls". Metacritic. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  2. ^ "Album by Girls reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Lymangrover, Jason. "Album – Girls". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  4. ^ Bevan, David (September 29, 2009). "Girls: Album". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 5, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
  5. ^ a b Dean, Will (September 25, 2009). "Girls: Album". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  6. ^ "Girls: Album". Mojo (194): 103. January 2010.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  8. ^ Jonze, Tim (September 27, 2009). "Album review: Girls – 'Album' (Fantasytrashcan/Turnstile)". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (September 25, 2009). "Girls: Album". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 3, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  10. ^ "Girls: Album". Q (279): 111. October 2009.
  11. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin (September 21, 2009). "Album : Girls". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  12. ^ Richards, Sam (September 22, 2009). "Girls – Album". Uncut. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  13. ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2009". Spin. December 31, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  14. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2009". Pitchfork. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 29, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  15. ^ "Girls (5) - Album". Discogs. October 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Girls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  17. ^ "Girls Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  18. ^ "Girls Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "Girls Singer Christopher Owens Leaves Band". Billboard.