Who knew that Some Girls were such talented punsters? Their newest release, All My Friends Are Going Death, raises the bar for album titles everywhere. When it comes to the music though, Some Girls meet with less success. They play with more energy than any band out there, but sometimes that just isn't enough.
Some Girls is a side project of epic proportions. Members of Give Up The Ghost, The Swing Kids, The Locust, and Unbroken (among others) add their style to the mix. All My Friends is Some Girls' first album, but don't get too excited. Many of the songs are from two previously released EPs. Even with the added material, including a Stooges cover, the CD doesn't get over the 18-minute mark.
In that brief time, Some Girls launches a sonic assault on your ears. Everything is in the red on All My Friends. The first listen is like a car crash: you have no idea what's going on, and when it's over, you're bruised and disoriented. Songs like "The Rains" launch headfirst through tempo changes without warning and give the album a manic, crazy feeling. The entire CD is stripped down, hard, fast, and singer Wes Eisold screams so hard that it made my throat hurt out of sympathy.
All My Friends isn't an album for everyone. Some Girls rarely slow down enough to give the listener a hook, and the finer points of screaming like a maniac might be lost on the less refined listener. There isn't much variation between one song and the next, and the Stooge's cover, "No Fun," is mostly just irritating. Good tracks easily get lost in the mediocre filler.
In the end, All My Friends is an album your mom would hate. If you're in to stomping around your bedroom or punching things, this is definitely the album for you. Otherwise, you might get this album just so you make jokes about how you're "going death." That would be a great way to make everyone hate you.
1. All My Friends Are Going Death
2. Now Only Memories Run On The Railways
3. Gonna Set My Soul On Fire
4. The Rains
5. His `N' Hers
6. Up To Our Hips
7. Sex And Glue
8. Red Cuts Through Black Hearts
9. Some Girls Have All the Fuck
10. Queens Without Kings
11. Blues Singer
12. Aligula
13. Pale Pink Vodka Veins
14. No Fun
15. Up To Our Hips