Cheap Girls – Famous
Graves
Xtra Mile, 2014
Fuck. How is this this bands FOURTH album and I’ve never
heard of them til now? So it goes. Better late than never. These Michiganders play the sort of 90s alt-rock inspired indie rock that fuels my days. Their
sound can actually be deduced from the bands they’ve spent time touring with
(The Hold Steady Against Me!, Bouncing Souls, Lemuria, and Andrew Jackson Jihad) with a
handful of J. Mascis vocals thrown in and the amps pushed past their breaking
point to the point where everything sounds like a messy stew of power chords,
fuzzy bass, and crashing drums. Somehow these guys manage to sound glossy
(read: Gin Blossoms) and gritty (read: Dinosaur Jr.) at the same time, which I
love, which I cherish, which I adore.
Famous
Graves is one of those rare albums that builds into a back half that is
stronger than the front. So much so that “7-8 Years” is touted as a “Bonus
Track” and it’s my favorite track on the album. There are guitar heroics, no
jumping through flaming hoops. This is just good old fashioned earnest dude
rock.
Famous Graves is remarkably
consistent and a statue built to those who have been mourning the death of the
big guitar in modern music.
RIYL: Ola Podrida, a less grizzled the Reigning Sound, Ultimate Fakebook, the
bands listed within this review.
Stream the album in its entirety
here.
"Man in Question"
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