GIRL LOVES DISTORTION - you better run, your highness LP (Just how varied and multi-faceted are the talents of DC-based indie rock trio Girl Loves Distortion? All three of the band members—Christopher Goett, Steven Rubin and Jenn Thomas—take turns singing. Christopher and Steven both play guitar, bass and organ (depending on the song of course). Christopher also plays the mellotron. Steven also plays drums, though Jenn is the band’s percussionist on most of their material. Oh yeah, Jenn can also twiddle a synthesizer with the best of them. But the most seriously impressive talent the band has, at least as far as this listener is concerned, is in the songwriting department. To put it simply, these guys and gal have a knack for crafting catchy tunes that stick with you like bubblegum on the bottom of a sneaker. Furthermore, there is an urgency, honesty and heft about Girl Loves Distortion’s particular brand of rough-edged guitar pop that can’t be ignored. And the band’s predilection for shaking things up—experimenting with different sounds, textures and instruments—keeps listeners never knowing what’s coming next.)

GIRL LOVES DISTORTION- You Better Run, Your Highness (Etxe) This DC band proposes to demonstrate a far more pleasant way to make late 80s Dischord “emo” more palatable than what actually happened (cringe). Very diggable!

Dan loves band. Sorry, just couldn’t resist. In actuality, I do enjoy this band or at least this recording. You Better Run, Your Highness (Etxe Records – said “et-chay”) is the second album from this DC native band. This band has hooked up with local music aficionado Devin Ocampo, whom you might remember from such bands as Faraquet and Medications. Engineered, recorded, and mastered by Ocampo at Inner Ear Studio in Alexandria, VA, the album has a crisp and fresh presentation creating an easy listening environment and allowing the band’s sound to come through cleanly. You may even notice that at times during certain tracks, the volume subtly (maybe it is deceptive) rises at just the right moments to create tense crescendos when most bands would record at a completely flat level. I purchased the vinyl even though the album is available both as a digital download and on CD. The vinyl is a sturdy pressing on 180 gram vinyl and comes adorned with a well drawn cartoony hipster fleeing from some unknown terror. I can’t recommend one version over another and I don’t believe there is any difference in the tracks, but I generally prefer vinyl if I can get my hands on it and think this was a wise choice in this case. The group describes themselves as a rock/trance band, but the rock nature of the band shines through as this album is merely speckled with any trance qualities. Throughout the disc the influences of this band chaotically stomp all over each track making it hard to classify this music past the simple label of rock. Opening track “Weighing” has the reincarnated zombie of Grant McLennan (The Go-Betweens) singing to a Sonic Youth style song out of Daydream Nation era, but shorter and more controlled. Second track “UFOs (unidentified fascist operators)” plugs away and continues this trend. The first true twist in this album is when you reach the title track of the album “You Better Run, Your Highness” where some of the trance qualities poke through this “rock” shroud in an edgy synth style that may challenge and even dissuade a casual listener, but will carry you through the mediocre track that finishes out side A. Travelling onto side B, you’re treated with the jammy “Guarantees” that has notes of Yo La Tengo. But the difficult trend of categorizing this band continues as you drift into “Cryptograms” where you might think White Stripes for a split second, but then sink back into the guitar heavy Sonic Youth sound repeated from earlier in the album. The album is concluded by confusing rocker “Dick and/or Jane” and “Ascend,” which for the third time on the album reveals a bit of Thurston Moore. For as much as I liked this album, there were some slow points (“…Bell Bottoms Flapping As I’m Run Down by…” and “Craneos del Azucar”) and there was never a single influence, sound, or style that served as a link through all of the tracks leaving the set a bit unfocused as a whole. As this band continues to mature, I anticipate some great music from them and am happy to own this record.

GIRL LOVES DISTORTION- Earth Beings On Exhibit (Etxe) Wicked 90s sounding, but without any of the parts of official “alternative rock” that sucked. I love the girl that loves distortion, and to quote Brian Piccolos best friend Gayle, “I’d like all of you to love him too.” But change “him” to “them”.

GIRL LOVES DISTORTION- EARTH BEINGS ON EXHIBIT- ETXE- Wash, DC bunch who seem to have a serious love of The Pixies (and maybe GBV and Sonic Yoof too). This sort of dissonant, minor-key dragging is not the first thing I'd put on the morning (or the last thing at night) but it has its place and I'll bet they have some dedicated fans.

GIRL LOVES DISTORTION – Earth Beings on Exhibit Individually, the songs on this album from this Washington, DC based band are pretty good. Edgy indie-rock is what comes to mind. The song “Psychic Raygun” is a standout track, with a throbbing, repeating line in the bass and raspy, puling guitars, sort of reminding me of another great DC band, Lungfish. “Luminance (We Don’t Dance)” is another, with a funky bass beat, 80s retro vocals, and a post-punk edge.