By Jennifer Graciano
The debut full length “Dead to Me” from Belfast natives, Girls Names, present the trio moving away from the rundown dissonance and heavy reverb heard on their 12” release on Captured Tracks, “Don’t Let Me In.” They’ve polished their approach to surf rock, and tamed their 60s garage rock ambiance this time around, and despite the drab album title, “Dead To Me” is anything but bleak. Lacking the expected miserable impression, “Dead To Me” surprises us with twenty eight minutes of sweet clatter, entrancing melodies, and exceptional guitar licks that will get your head bobbing and your toe tapping.
Album opener ‘Lawrence’ delivers a dazed take on ’60s garage rock. The first forty seconds are appropriate for the album title; warped noise that gives a false front to the otherwise lively album. Cully’s vocals are anything but feminine, but “Kiss Goodbye” might as well have come from a mid-‘60s girl group. It’s a bouncy track filled to the brim with lovelorn allure. The fuzzy sounds on “When You Cry” will have you itching to get to the beach with its potential to soundtrack your next hazy daydream as you lounge about the sand.
