You know that thing about punk rockers not being able to play their instruments but having a lot of, er, emotion? Yeah, that applies to Brooklyn (via New Jersey) act Vivian Girls. This Crystals-on-codeine three-piece has a way of creating violent reactions: They’re either criminally overhyped — the off-base Joy Division comparisons, Amazon calling their 21-minute debut the 85th Best Indie Rock Album of All Time (whatever the fuck that means) — or unfairly dismissed. But how does one say no to the Girls’ real simple, real fast rock and roll, in full effect on last year’s LP Everything Goes Wrong?
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2010.