What if Beach House was a Stooges
tribute band?
How to be a Vivian Girl in four simple
steps: 1. Write a darkly sweet indie-pop ditty that rages like punk
rock. 2. Record it on an ancient Radio Shack tape recorder inside an
aluminum garbage can. 3. ????. 4. Profit! It’s hard to say why
no-fi rock music is so hot right now, unless it’s a reaction
against our slick Auto-Tuned era, but their sophomore album clearly
places this Brooklyn trio at the head of the shitgaze pack. Under all
the slashing power chords and atmospheric scuzz lies a killer pop
instinct, which you can hear in the girl-group harmonies buried in “I
Have No Fun,” and how the guitar doubles the vocal line on “I’m
Not Asleep.” The songs are brief, noisy bursts, bratty but
walloping. Rock diehards might scorn the weak solos, but Vivian Girls
compensate with rock-solid rhythm and roughshod passion. And most
importantly, they’re hinting at new directions here: “Tension”
is a standout track, with ragged harmonies (think Wire on “Reuters”)
bubbling up from a dusky post-punk morass.