It’s been a while. But unlike so many bands, Girls vs Boys never made a deal about splitting up or taking a break. They got on with doing other stuff (mainly other bands, and in the case of Eli Janey, producing acts ranging from Obits to James Blunt and setting up a publishing company) and reconvened when the time was right. ‘The Ghost List EP’ marks a very welcome return ahead of a handful of live dates (including a brace of UK shows with Superchunk).
Diamond Life punches in with all of the old Girls vs Boys trademarks present and correct, with a low-slung scuzzy bass and fuzzy-edged drawling vocals. It’s a lumbering beast of a tune that calls to mind ‘Distracted’ from the ‘Disco Six Six Six’ EP. Granted, the ‘woo-oo’ backing vocals are more reminiscent of The Dandy Warhols,’ and the phasesr-to-stun lead guitar-line marks something of a departure, too, but you’d not want them to come back exactly the same after a gap of a decade, would you? I sure as hell wouldn’t. What matters most is that they’re still cool as fuck – which was pretty much guaranteed anyway.
‘Fade Out’ nabs the bassline from Suicide’s Ghostrider and melds it to a loping drum and ferocious guitar assault before ‘60 is Greater than 15’ slows the tempo and ups the sleaze. Again, their newfound pop element (it was hinted at on their last long-player, 2002’s ‘You Can’t Fight What You Can’t See’ but is blossoming here) comes through, but contrasts with a dense, heavy sound and production. There’s a summery bounce to punk-popper ‘Let’s Get Killed’, and the final track, ‘Kick’ ventures into murky electro-rock territory. More experimental, and driven by atmosphere rather than melody or a chorus, its a deep, rumbling sinister drone of a song that throbs darkly through a motorik rhythm.
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There’s no suggestion of an album in the pipeline, so for now we’re probably going to have to satisfy ourselves with just these five tracks – but better five tracks than none, and hopefully they won’t leave it quite as long next time.
Girls Against Boys Online
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