On Pitchfork, Dusted, everywhere.
Tons of hype around these guys, presumably on the strength of standout single Boyfriend. Which is, by the way, super catchy. The strained singing of Bethany Cosantino cries out in loving longing, in a way that would sound terribly emo on a boy, but sounds sort of charming here. The simple chugging guitars provide girl-group backing for the crooning, and it gets stuck in your head. Is the secret of its success that girls can sympathize, and boys can fantasize that a girl that sounds so cute could be longing for them? Seems plausible to me.
Anyway, I harp on this opening song for so long because its such effective synecdoche for the whole album, which is the album's downfall. What's cute and charming in a song, and actually becomes more charming after two, becomes tiresome after 12. Ok, ok Beth, shoot. You got it bad for some guy. At first it was cute, but now you're sounding kind of desperate and pathetic. Maybe that's the album's concept or message on some level. Maybe true longing isn't over when the song is. But, look, I'm not looking for concepts on an album this simple, this indie, I'm looking for enjoyment, and this is gum that loses its flavor too fast.
There are some awfully good songs on here, maybe it will make mixtape fodder, but as an album I'm being generous with 3/5
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