Girl Loves Distortion – You Better Run, Your Highness

Girl Loves Distortion - You Better Run, Your Highness

Girl Loves Distortion has spent 3-plus years making music and in that time has put out two records. The second and latest - You Better Run, Your Highness – has the band continuing with its own brand of indie pop. The album has its moments, but doesn’t exactly set the world on fire.

The mix of (obviously) distorted guitars, bass, and drums — with some keyboards thrown in as well — doesn’t have to be a straightjacket recipe for predictability, and the instrumental title track feels like a curveball in this regard. Thumbs up. However, quite a few of the other songs sound like they’ve been borrowed from past giants. “Weighing” has the flavor of Sonic Youth’s “Disappearer”, at least until the airy backing female vocals pop up (but then again Kim Gordon was never known for her voice). “Weighing” does have some clever wordplay: “Self-made man / In love with his creator” kicks it off. And props for throwing in the slightly dissonant guitar. We’ve become so used to this sound, though, that it’s not as remarkable as it might have been in times past. For that matter, “Cryptograms” also sounds a little like something from the Goo period of Sonic Youth.

There’s another track that stands out from the pile: “Guarantees” floats along on its own vibe, taking its time to develop into something memorable in its sadness. It’s a breather from the more straight-out rock stuff. The spaced-out verses give way to some Sebadoh-like choruses (melody-wise). “…As I’m Run Down By The Evil Disco Princess” tries to mix things up with its silly title and funny-sounding guitar licks. It ends up feeling a little self-conscious, though, or a little stiff. Speaking of the song title, and of the album title, and of the album art, the band does establish a kitschy kind of identity for itself. Paying attention to and presenting an image does benefit the band.

“Dick And/Or Jane” doesn’t really get off the ground and it seems like it can’t quite make up its mind about what it wants to be: maybe Living Color? “Ascend”, though, has good verses but I think that the chorus on this and other songs doesn’t always match the personality that the song establishes otherwise. Or maybe I’m just not fully in tune with the band’s aesthetic, which is entirely possible. I imagine that the next record will continue seeing the band move away from the shadows of its forebears and therefore find the distinctive voice that emerges from time to time on this record.