Word: punks
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Admittedly, most songs on the album last less than three minutes, making for quick, on-the-go, post-millennium punk. The creative song names also make up for the lack of uttered lyrics, with titles such as “Salt Swimmers” and “Thrills” implying an inherently poetic, rebellious symbolism. But instead of feeling a powerful sensation of anti-establishment, we’re left with a mix of strange emotions. The album builds up tension with its onerous layers of dissonance and noise, but ultimately provides no gratification. Catharis-seekers will find...
...sinister instrumental piece over which guitarist Steve Drozd erratically improvises, to an effect at turns intense and enervating. But the most thrilling moment of “Embryonic” is towards its end—the signature-switching “Silver Trembling Hands,” whose punk-tempo framework balances gorgeously with a slow-motion release and refrain. At an hour and ten minutes, “Embryonic” has enough high points that potential favorites abound...
References of post-punk today aspire to fill a gaping hole left by the conformity of pop music with the spirit of erstwhile anarchy. “Concepts,” the first full-length album by Toronto-based new wave post-punk band Little Girls, aims to recreate this early-’80s recalcitrant feeling but falls short of succeeding. Pairing distinct, minor guitar riffs with scratchy and ethereal vocals, the duo—fronted by multi-instrumentalist Joel McIntyre of Pirate/Rock—brings to mind British post-punk staple Joy Division...
...album closes with “Growing,” making use of a not-so-subtle, save-the-best-for-last strategy. With a scratchy yet catchy melody complemented by a chipper pulse and moody vocalization, the ultimate track conceptualizes the youthful loss of the post-punk generation better than the 10 other songs prior to it. But even this finale can’t make up for the fuzzy blend of unclear intentions in the rest of the album, as McIntyre’s electronically-produced mumbles fade away into an abyss of lo-fi pop, void...
Recreating the new generation’s omnipresent fascination with punk may have seemed like an interesting way to refashion the old, but “Concepts” falls short with neither a sense of indie direction nor punk authority. The naïveté of Little Girls shows on its debut album, but credit should be granted to McIntyre and company for attempting to combine old post-punk with new alternative, even if precociously...