Vivian Girls is the eponymous debut from the Brooklyn indie-rock trio. Named after a posthumously discovered manuscript by outsider mixed-media artist Henry Darger, the group was one of the premiere buzzbands of the blog era. 2008's Vivian Girls features the lineup of Cassie Ramone, “Kickball Katy” Goodman, and Frankie Rose (also of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, and Beverly). They found immediate support from the global underground, scoring opening spots for Jay Reatard, Sonic Youth, and King Khan & The BBQ Show. This gives a hint to the band’s sound at the time - a blend of the harmoninc, garagey, gloomy, and somewhat twee. The album is hardly over 20 minutes long, but every second of is is bursting with breathless adrenaline. “Tell The World” is double-time twang and rigid post-punk drums, vocals stretched to cover the entire sonic spectrum with chorus effects. It’s followed up by the sonic polar opposite “Where Do You Run To”, a charmingly tender ballad along the lines of classic girl groups like the Shangri-Las. The disc ends with the crashing drums and monochromatic guitar washes of “I Believe in Nothing”, bright guitar solos dueling with the blown out, mantra-like chorus. This edition of the record was mastered by Heba Kadry and pressed on cream and maroon split colored vinyl, plays at super loud 45 RPM. 

• cream and maroon split colored vinyl pressing
• first time this album is available on colored vinyl
• remastered edition, plays at 45 RPM
• digital download included
• original release year: 2008
• limited edition
• music label: Polyvinyl 2019

reviewed by HANS PRINZHORN 10/2019