After decades of traditional rock bands peddling the same old stuff with diminishing returns, it's been refreshing of late to hear bands who opt for reasonably a convention style, upping the fuzz and allowing alt-rock to infiltrate their more conventional approach. Michigan trio Cheap Girls seem happy to stick to the script when it comes to structure and format, but are willing to give their music that edge that can so often be lacking unless you start looking to indie-rock and similar styles. Their new album 'Famous Graves' will be with us mid-May, and we could be looking at trad-rock going powerpop with plenty of alternative touches. Calling it experimental would be a step too far, but it sounds superb.
Single 'Knock Me Over' could so easily have been another boring listen, and we're not knocking the quality of the actual song itself; it's often what you do with it that makes it a success. What Cheap Girls have done is turn their effects pedals to "buzz" and slam straight into a non-stop guitar tune that incorporates plenty of melody and also style. There's an almost grungy bent to what they've done here, but its still a rock song at its core. In employing a few nice touches (something which may well be commonplace) they've crafted a tune for the repeat button, not the delete one.
Cheap Girls' website
Pre-order the album
Catch them live:
Mar 09 Slowdown, Omaha, NE
Mar 10 The Blue Note, Columbia, MO
Mar 12 SXSW at The Liberty, Austin, TX
Mar 12 SXSW at Red 7, Austin, TX
Mar 13 Cine El Rey, Mcallen, TX
Mar 15 House Of Rock, Corpus Christi, TX
Mar 16 Fitzgeralds, Houston, TX
Mar 18 Backstage Live, San Antonio, TX
Mar 19 Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill, Dallas, TX
Mar 21 The Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO
Mar 22 Murray Theater, Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 23 Knitting Factory Concert House, Reno, NV
Mar 24 Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
Mar 25 Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
Mar 26 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
Mar 28 Starlite Room, Edmonton, Canada
Mar 29 Republik, Calgary, Canada
Mar 30 Exchange, Regina, Canada
Mar 31 Louis' Pub, Saskatoon, Canada
Apr 01 West End Cultural Center, Winnipeg, Canada
Apr 02 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 03 The Majestic Theatre, Madison, WI
Apr 04 Durty Nellies, Palatine, IL
Apr 05 Vogue Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
Apr 06 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Apr 07 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Apr 08 Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
Apr 09 Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, Canada
Apr 11 The Hollow, Albany, NY
Apr 12 The Met Cafe, Pawtucket, RI
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