Audio Cassette review:
Girls Against Boys - Freak*on*ica

Girls Against Boys - Freak*on*ica

Band: Girls Against Boys Title: Freak*on*ica Rating: Release Date: 02 June, 1998 Media: Audio Cassette Tracks: 1: Park Avenue 2: Pleasurized 3: Psycho Furture 4: Black Hole 5: Roxy 6: One Firecracker 7: Speedway 8: Exorcisto 9: Vogue Thing 10: Push the Fader 11: Exile 12: Cowboy's Orbit

Editoral Review The production is jarring at first, and the sudden clarity and separation between instruments takes some getting used to after brilliant but relatively muddy indie-label efforts like House of GVSB. The first full-length major-label effort from Girls Against Boys finds their sound largely intact, with a brutally narrow tonal range and intriguingly arranged song structures at the forefront of their sonic assault. The band end up using the newfound space to their advantage, compiling a litany of abrasive yet distinctly melodic noises to fill out their ferocious approach. The concept works especially well on songs like "Exorcisto," which incorporates a cracking snare sound and background industrial noise into an unpredictable compositional style and off-speed rhythmic elements. Girls Against Boys have gotten a lot of mileage out of their spare, loud sound, but they up the ante on Freak*on*ica to the point where they've actually made a headphone album. Crank it up or don't--you'll get lost in it either way. --Matthew Cooke .. You can see a complete list of all Girls Against Boys discography, or go back to the Girls Against Boys tabs