Brooklyn-based trio Vivian Girls have lived a lifetime in blog years, going from virtual unknowns to hipster music blog celebrities to backlash victims in about 14 months. But regardless of any blowback caused by the ever-shortening PR cycles in the blogosphere, this punkish, fuzzed-out update on the classic girl-group sounds of the ‘60s was a welcome discovery in 2008.

And what a year it was. The Vivian Girls – Cassie Ramone (the blonde; guitar/vocals), Kickball Katy (the redhead; bass/vocals) and Ali Koehler (the bespectacled brunette; drums/vocals) – released four 7” singles and a full-length LP, played continually throughout NYC, toured their asses off, opened for such alterna-stalwarts as Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, and did a lot of press. In short, they’re doing everything a new band should be doing.

Their music references a whole bunch of stylistic argot: The harmonies and overall mood (and reverb!) will recall such ‘60s girl-groups as The Crystals, The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las and so forth. The fuzztone guitar in a lot of their songs and the general loose feel of the arrangements feel like garage rock. That some songs devolve into squealing cacophony is bit shoegaze-y. Surf music gets a nod in both their vocal harmonizing and some of their song choices (a recently released cover of the Beach Boys “Girl Don’t Tell Me,” for instance). Their look and attitude recalls the best of the riotgrrl movement. Toss a little shambolic C86 in there, too. Hell, go all the way back to The Raincoats, if you want. And the whole affair is presented in glorious lo-fi, Slumberland-y, knocked-off brilliance (hey, if it were as easy as it sounds, don’t you think there’d be more of it?). (more…)