Girls was an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band, formed in San Francisco in 2007. The band comprised two key members:

Christopher Owens Christopher David Owens (born July 13, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the frontman and songwriter for the now-disbanded indie rock band Girls. He released his debut album as a solo artist, '' Lysandre' ...

, songwriter and lead singer, and Chet "JR" White, who played bass and produced. Girls' sound was heavily inspired by the music of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with their sound being described as

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental su ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

, and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

. Girls' debut full-length, ''

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

,'' was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. Its 2011 follow-up, '' Father, Son, Holy Ghost'', was also well received. On July 2, 2012, Owens announced that he was leaving the band and would continue to record as a solo artist.

History

Formation and ''Album'' (2007–09)

Owens was born into the fundamentalist cult Children of God, but absconded at the age of sixteen from their community in Slovenia to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

. It took him years of exploring common technology,

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

and

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by I ...

, among other things, to cope in mainstream society. He began

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

, which gave him an outlet and contact with the outside world. In an interview with ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' magazine, Owens related much of how being part of the Children of God cult informed his childhood and his music. While there, he was not allowed to listen to music from outside the group, but was allowed to watch films from which he absorbed music like

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

. In Amarillo, Owens was taken in by Stanley Marsh 3, working as his personal assistant for four years. When Owens turned 25, he moved to San Francisco, where he started making music and taking drugs such as cocaine and heroin. While in California, Owens became a member of Holy Shit with

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded alb ...

and Matt Fishbeck. Owens then met Chet "JR" White, a

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

native who was raised in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

, who began recording bands in his parents' garage in his teens. Upon meeting, the two developed a strong bond and interest in similar music, as well as a shared background in punk/hardcore music. Shortly thereafter, Owens and White started recording what was to later be their debut album, titled ''

''. ''Album'' received critical acclaim when it was released. ''Pitchfork'' rated the single " Hellhole Ratrace" at 383 of the top 500 songs of the 2000s. The same website gave the album a grade of 9.1/10 and was rated the 10th best album of 2009.

''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' (2010–2011)

In 2010, Girls released the EP '' Broken Dreams Club,'' an EP Owens described as "a taste of things to come." On July 20, 2011, they released the song "Vomit" from their upcoming album as a free download. This was followed by a video of the same song in August. "Honey Bunny" was the second cut off the record. The band released their second full-length album '' Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' on September 9, 2011 in UK/Europe and on September 13 in the USA. In November 2011, Girls announced a standalone single, "Lawrence", released on heart-shaped vinyl on November 28, 2011; The song was written as a tribute to

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

lead singer Lawrence. Girls (band) Coachella 2012

Like ''Album'', ''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' received much acclaim. "Vomit" and "Honey Bunny", the first and second single from the album, received "Best New Music" designations from Pitchfork. The same website gave the album a grade of 9.3 and was ranked number five on their Top 50 Albums of 2011 list. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' said "with ''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' the band has vaulted the equivalent of three albums ahead, taking the conciseness of the EP and confounding expectations." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' gave the album a 9/10 rating, saying "with Father, Son, Holy Ghost's exquisite, beyond-indie melodies, arrangements, and musicianship (the playful "Magic," the elegant "Just a Song," the fiery "Die"), (

) and bassist-producer JR White flirt with perfection." The songs on the album deal with love and Owens' drug addiction; Owens stated that he needed to detox prior to tours in order to make it through them. ''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' brought even more exposure to the band. The album peaked at no. 37 on the ''Billboard'' 200. On the tour in support of the album, the band performed at the St Jerome's Laneway Festival and the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

. In addition, the band performed songs from the album on ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' and '' Conan.''

Breakup and aftermath (2012)

On July 1, 2012, Christopher Owens announced via his Twitter feed that he was leaving the band though he will continue to record music on his own. Owens cited the band's constantly shifting lineup as the reason for his departure, saying in an interview with ''Pitchfork'': " were replacing members for every other tour; I didn't feel like I had other people who were maturing alongside me. I counted out the amount of people that were in the band over the years. It was 21 – a giant amount of people. That's feeling disappointed 21 times over." The breaking point for Owens came when guitarist John Anderson, one of Owens' closest friends, left the band. In a March 2013 '' Paste'' magazine article, Chet "JR" White talked to writer Philip Cosores. After the band's disbandment, White denied all requests for interviews. White told Corsores there was an initial shock after reading Owens' email and tweets about the band's breakup; but after they spoke less during the ''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' sessions, he "knew it he breakupcould be coming soon". Owens released his debut solo album '' Lysandre'' on January 15, 2013. He followed this up with '' A New Testament'' in September 2014. Owens has since voiced his displeasure over the bands shared name with the HBO series ''

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

''. White died on October 18, 2020 in

Musical style

Girls were heavily influenced by the music of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with their sound being described as

, and

. For the band's first album ''

,'' critics identified

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pi ...

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: '' Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon ...

, and

as possible influences. The band's second album, '' Father, Son, Holy Ghost'', kept most of the surf rock sound of the first album, but also saw their sound expand into

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is co ...

. Owens named

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

as one of his major influences, and his vocal style has been compared to that of

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (September 22, 2009), True Panther Sounds – No. 136 ''Billboard'' 200, No. 3 ''Billboard'' Top Heatseekers Albums *'' Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' (September 13, 2011) – No. 37 ''Billboard'' 200, No. 119

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

EPs

*'' Broken Dreams Club'' (EP) (November 22, 2010), True Panther Sounds

Singles

*"Lust for Life"/"Morning Light" (July 1, 2008), True Panther Sounds TRUE008 **Format: 7" vinyl, limited to 500 copies *#"Lust for Life" – 2:25 *#"Morning Light" – 2:36 *" Hellhole Ratrace" (July 6, 2009), Fantasytrashcan FANTASY001 **Format: 10" vinyl *#"Hellhole Ratrace" – 6:57 *#"Solitude" – 3:44 *" Lust for Life" (September 7, 2009), Fantasytrashcan FANTASY002 **Format: 7" vinyl *#"Lust for Life" – 2:25 *#"Life in San Francisco" – 2:21 *"Laura" (November 9, 2009), Fantasytrashcan FANTASY004 **Format: 7" vinyl *#"Laura" – 4:52 *#"Oh Boy" – 2:41 *"Morning Light" (February 22, 2010), Fantasytrashcan FANTASY005 **Format: 7" vinyl *#"Morning Light" – 2:36 *#" End of the World" – 3:35 *"Lawrence" (November 28, 2011), Fantasytrashcan FANTASY005 **Format: 12" red heart shaped vinyl, limited to 1000 copies *#"Lawrence" – 4:00 *"My Ma" (March 22, 2012) *#"Love Life" – 2:28 **Format: 7" vinyl, limited to 1000 copies

Music videos

* "My Ma" * "Honey Bunny" * "Vomit" * "Hellhole Race" * "Lust for Life"

History

Formation and ''Album'' (2007–09)

''Father, Son, Holy Ghost'' (2010–2011)

Breakup and aftermath (2012)

Musical style

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Music videos

References

Further reading

External links