Girls! Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Sometimes an album comes along that covers you like a warm blanket. There’s no rhyme or reason to it really, it just feels right. You carry it around with you, playing it every chance you get. It’s not just a connection to one or two good songs, it’s a connection to the whole body of work. Every song seems to hit you in a good place, and every listen is a fresh adventure.

Sometimes that feeling doesn’t kick in until you’ve listened to an album a bunch of times (an example this year: My Morning Jacket’s Circuital). But other times, it’s immediate. And when it’s completely unexpected – my God, it’s such a rush.

It happened to me today with a new album called Father, Son, Holy Ghost by San Francisco’s Girls. A couple of years ago, I became enamored by one of their songs, “Laura”, and had the good fortune to catch part of their set at the ’09 ACL Festival. It’s a song that still pops into my head from time to time, including this morning. Then, I saw they had a new album out, and I clicked Play (on Rdio). And I really haven’t stopped since.

Beautiful melodies. Shades of the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello, Pink Floyd… Summery pop interspersed occasionally with an edge, but never losing its luster and beauty – all from the mind of singer/guitarist Christopher Owens.

Believe it or not, you’ll fall in love with songs called “Vomit” and “Die”. And the lead single and album opener “Honey Bunny” sucks you right in.

I’ve been listening to this record for less than 12 hours, and already it’s one of my highlights of 2011.

Here’s the official video for “Honey Bunny”, featuring Christopher and his real life girlfriend, Hannah Hunt. He channels Prince with his black belly shirt (the “Kiss” video), and MJ with his “The Way You Make Me Feel” gestures. I’ve also been reading that the video (and the band itself) takes inspiration from Ariel Pink – who I’ve heard of but know pretty much nothing about. Perhaps I shall explore.

BUY: Father, Son, Holy Ghost