Posted on: March 10, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The Jealous Girlfriends make it work. The Brooklyn four-piece pull together the tunefulness of Anglo New Wave and BritPop, the aggression and energy of Washingtonian indie rock – both district and state – and infuse it all with a little soul, working an alchemy that transforms these base musical elements into songs crackling with tension and excitement that are instantly memorable while revealing something new with every listen.

Overtop a rhythmic foundation laid down by drummer Michael Fadem, Josh Abbott and Holly Miranda’s buzzsaw guitars carom and careen against Alex Lipsen’s square wave synths as their voices duet and duel overtop in tones that are playful and plaintive, menacing and mesmerizing. It’s this potent lineup that has crafted their eponymous album following a 2005 debut EP featuring only Miranda and Lipsen.

The Jealous Girlfriends have already achieved a tremendous amount for a wholly independent band, earning that blessing and curse of being one of the best-kept secrets in independent music. Now signed to Good Fences Records, they’re set to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world.

Armed with hooks, barbs, and velvet-lined bludgeons, The Jealous Girlfriends – the album – makes a striking statement that reveals The Jealous Girlfriends – the band – as an outfit that bends and pushes against the boundaries of rock music not so much with the intent to break them, but simply to see what kind of shapes they can make.

Dates With The Most Serene Republic

3/12 – Fort Worth at Lola’s

www.thejealousgirlfriends.com

New York Times : The Jealous Girlfriends, one of the best new bands in New York, float through soft and erotic clouds of guitar and keyboards that can turn grungy and turbulent” (Ben Sisario)

LA Times (Buzz Band Feature): “The Jealous Girlfriends played their first Los Angeles show on Thursday night, and it made me, well, a bit jealous I hadn’t seen the
Brooklyn quartet before.” http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/buzzbands/2007/11/the-jealous-gir.html (Kevin Bronson)

New York Magazine ” An impressive, unsigned local quartet distinguished by its shimmering, synthy melodies and fresh vocal sound”

Billboard “…the Jealous Girlfriends have honed and refined their raw craft, a Spoon-like modern twist on guitar rock”

L Magazine “This is one of the strongest voices I’ve ever heard live in my entire life, and I don’t want it to stop.” Things got a bit more fast-paced throughout the rest of the show, as they rolled through one hook-filled dream-pop song after another, and Miranda never did stop singing. But she was joined by guitarist Josh Abbot, who shares singing duties on every song and provides the invaluable contrast that makes the band so interesting”

Leave a Comment