Girls

Civil Society are excited to announce an exclusive run of headlines shows for San Francisco’s hazy garage-pop slackers Girls. The duo will be bringing their sun soaked psychedelia to Australia to Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.

One of the hottest buzz bands of 2009, Girls burnt their place in the blogosphere with their care-free brand of garage pop, melding the sunny Californian melodies of Brian Wilson, the angular guitar-pop of Elvis Costello, and the grungey spirit of their D.I.Y contemporaries (Vivian Girls, Japandroids, Wavves). In 2009, Girls presented their highly-anticipated debut, Album (out now on Pod/Inertia).

Consisting of two San Francisco slackers – Christopher Owens (words and melodies) and JR White (production) – Girls are a product of their location. Taking the classic California pop template perfected by Brian Wilson and applying a woozy, lo-fi makeover, Girls make music that’s trapped in a permanent adolescence. Adding to the mix of the band’s eclectic sound is Owens’ unconventional upbringing. Born and raised in the hippie Children of God cult, Owens spent his childhood attending prayer sessions whilst being shielded from the outside world. It was, in his own words, “pretty hellish … they thought they could hide us from a whole lot of stuff and teach us to be happy, perfect children of god. But you can’t control people like that.”

Life in the Children of God had a massive impact on Christopher’s songwriting. It was there that he learnt to busk, there that he listened to a diverse array of music made by other cult members, and there that fellow cult member and former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Jeremy Spencer gave him his first guitar, an instrument he still uses to write songs on.

After leaving the cult at 16 and spending several drug-fuelled years immersed in Amarillo’s punk scene, Christopher found a natural home in San Francisco. It was here that Christopher fell into the local music scene, playing gigs with freak-folkster Ariel Pink and his Holy Shit project. “I wouldn’t have got into writing music at all if I hadn’t played with Holy Shit – watching them play was like a lightbulb going off.”

After a short-lived project with an ex-girlfirend, titled Curls, Christopher took over vocal duties, and met JR, best friend and missing piece of The Girls. Recorded mainly on reel-to-reel tape, their debut, Album, has been described as a music obsessive’s paradise, with music references throughout. Listen carefully and you’ll pick up everything from Martin Denny-style exotica (Headache) to blissed-out shoegaze (Morning Light), Elvis Costello, Spaceman 3, Prince and Iggy Pop.

Civil Society is proud to bring Girls’ DIY melodies to Australia for the first time. Performing this December in three headlining shows, in addition to their Meredith appearance, this eccentric duo will surely continue to win the hearts of fans with their first live show in Australia.