pretty girls make graves : Releases >>
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New Romance >>
On The New Romance, Pretty Girls Make Graves deliver a spiky form of post-punk indie rock intended to confound expectations. Continually breaking any groove they create, they rely on the jerky, piercing, intertwining guitars of Nathan Thelen and J Clark to snake their way into your consciousness. It doesn't really work--too often the music seems directionless and self-consciously arty. Of course, strong melodies might have saved the day, as they have with many of PGMG's north-western predecessors, but it's in this department that the band are most severely lacking, with only "Holy Names", "All Medicated Geniuses" and "A Certain Cemetery" being remotely memorable.
Indeed, the band only really impress with the juddering, piano-heavy pop rock of the closing "A Certain Cemetery", the only time they seem confident and conjure true spiritual power. Until that point you get the feeling that though they all want to be in a band they're not sure which one. The thought that Pretty Girls Make Graves feature an ex-member of Murder City Devils is naturally exciting--MCD were, after all, Seattle's finest export since the grunge revolution. Unfortunately, the member concerned is neither singer Spencer Moody nor keyboardist Leslie Hardy but bassist Derek Fudesco and PGMG are a world away from his illustrious former outfit. --Dominic Wills
New Romance >>
Élan Vital >>
Weeks on the road with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party certainly made an impression this Seattle quintet. On the follow-up to 2003's The New Romance, Pretty Girls Make Graves edge away from scratchy indie rock and embrace a more svelte, early '80s inspired post-punk sound. Much of it has to do with the addition of keyboardist Leona Marrs, whose economical melodies put electronics and retro dance grooves at the fore. Tracks like "Pyrite Pedestal" and "Domino" point the way forward, coming across like a hybrid of The Slits and The Fall. But the experimentation doesn't end there. Tracks like prog-ish "The Magic Hour" and punky-reggae "Selling the Wind" pull the band in more directions than it can always handle. Nobody said growing up is easy. --Aidin Vaziri
Good Health >>
If you combined all of the prior musical experience of Seattle outfit Pretty Girls Make Graves into a single person, you'd have, well, a really old guy. The thing about it is, all that musicianship comes through, even though Pretty Girls Make Graves play the sort of bouncy, poppy, energetic not-quite-punk that isn't usually associated with stellar musicianship. The deceptively simple song construction and hooky melodies cover a startling truth: Pretty Girls Make Graves kick butt as musicians. That raises the level of their material from a bunch of pleasant songs to a collection of tight, ear-catching music that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the High Fidelity soundtrack. It's a little too pretty to be punk, a little too raw to be pop, and a little too elegantly constructed to be rock & roll. And that makes it just about perfect. --Genevieve Williams
This Is Our Emergency >>
Pretty Girls Make Graves >>
All Medicated Geniuses (4 Tracks) >>
Elan Vital >>
Weeks on the road with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party certainly made an impression this Seattle quintet. On the follow-up to 2003's The New Romance, Pretty Girls Make Graves edge away from scratchy indie rock and embrace a more svelte, early '80s inspired post-punk sound. Much of it has to do with the addition of keyboardist Leona Marrs, whose economical melodies put electronics and retro dance grooves at the fore. Tracks like "Pyrite Pedestal" and "Domino" point the way forward, coming across like a hybrid of The Slits and The Fall. But the experimentation doesn't end there. Tracks like prog-ish "The Magic Hour" and punky-reggae "Selling the Wind" pull the band in more directions than it can always handle. Nobody said growing up is easy. --Aidin Vaziri