Girls is a hip indie band from California… one of thousands right? Girls is a very refined band however. Their second album Father, Son, Holy Ghost is good enough to separate them from the pack. They have put together a record that was on several top 10 lists for 2011 and is well deserving of that status.

Father, Son, Holy Ghost starts with the excellent “Honey Bunny” that pays a direct tip of the hat to Buddy Holly. It has some of the happiest pop notes you will hear on recent records. Just two songs later on “Die” the band burns into an all out jam that sounds like it is the result of an alcohol filled night of the band listening to the Stooges’ Fun House. Girls bounce right back with a sweet little love songs that could fit on the Beatles Please, Please Me.

The band’s versatility is very impressive throughout the record. They wear their influences on their sleeves and hide what they are trying to do because when you do it so well it doesn’t matter if it sounds like another band. On the tracks “Vomit” and “Forgiveness” the band shows that Dark Side of the Moon is in their record collection while bouncing right back with more perfect little pop ditties on “Just A Song” then find their soul side on “Love Like A River.” The strength of this record is in its versitility, the band is a scattershot of emotions and they blended it into one of the best records of 2011.

Key Tracks: “Die” “Just A Song” “Honey Bunny”