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{ True Madness Magazine }
Music Reviews
Pretty Girls Make Graves, The New Romance
Matador, 2003
By James Eddy
Few bands can orchestrate beautifully captivating songs as well as Pretty Girls Make Graves can. The reason is simply that style clashing eventually lead the quieter voices out of the fold, leaving the music to reflect those who are willing to fight the longest on top; where PGMG differs is that there all passionate about the direction they want the music to pull towards, unfolding the unique circumstance of wanting to make splendidly melded melodies together from the chaotic minds of the musicians themselves. While there are elements of completely thrashing rock here with ex-Murder City Devil Derek Fudesco’s ripping bass lines and guitarist Nathan Thelen’s equally stomping style, it is coexistent with J Clarks almost otherworldly guitar work and sampling while drummer/keyboardist Nick Dewitt really explores his limits as a musician by sometimes frantic but always cohesive backdrop, throwing in his own programmed samples in from time to time. The real glue of the whole unit is lead singer Andrea Zollo, whose voice rides that thin line of kick-ass rock and cerebral art that marks Pretty Girls Make Graves as one of the most exciting bands in the indie scene today.
With their newest release, The New Romance, PGMG continues where their debut LP Good Health left off. While merely a year and a half separates the two albums, the bands has found somewhere in their busy touring schedule to really show some age. Instead of really rehashing the same formula that made that first album such a success, they explore ever deeper beneath the surface, adding new layers to their multi-faceted rock front. The opening track “Something Bigger, Something Brighter” presents this point with more clarity than one could really expect, starting out with a somber tone only to blow up halfway through, then stealthily retreating back from where it came. Then the disc goes onto to the straight-forward rock of The Grandmother Wolf, still establishing the rich textures that mark the whole album. The real key is that nothing is expected, no matter how well versed you feel with the bands mood. Even the short instrumentals that serve mainly as bridges between tracks are captivating, stretching the listeners mind with their pop-aware adventures into nonsense (the seventh track, simply titled 7, show a perfect example of this mentality.) While the length seemed to stretch the band slightly (it is by far their longest piece to date, clocking in at just under 40 minutes,) they aren’t really letting it show. More than anything, they leave their fan base hungry for me of their well formulated version of totally ornate rock music. This is, by no stretch of the imagination, the best collection of work that band has done to date, and something to be very very proud of. This is what indie rock needs, more of a collective effort than a single artists narrow view. Kudos, PGMG, you are the kings and queen.
RATING: 4.5 out of 5
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