Top 25 of 2008: #13 Looking Into It by the All Girl Summer Fun Band

Image of the All Girl Summer Fun Band by Thomas Oliver

#13 Looking Into It by the All Girl Summer Fun Band (AGSFB Music)

The ladies of the All Girl Summer Fun Band have owed us a new album for five years (to the extent that a fan can ever argue that musicians owe them new music). But they have good excuses - they've been pretty busy. Frontgirl Kim Baxter runs Kissycake, a company that sells cute tote bags, onesies, and tee shirts. Jen Sbragia is a talented graphic designer. Kathy Foster has a full-time gig playing bass in the Thermals with her guy Hutch Harris. And Ari Douangpanya had a baby boy and elected to drop out of the band altogether. Also, the girls do work for Portland's Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. It's amazing that they had time to put together a third album at all, let alone record, produce, design and release the record themselves out of their homes.

The record was worth the wait. Looking Into It is a different album than the first two they released through K Records. Kim, Jen, and Kathy have been through a lot in the interim, and it comes through in the songs. They aren't singing about "Mr. and Mrs. Troublemaker", "Canadian Boyfriend", or "Jason Lee" anymore. The references to video games, charm bracelets, and flavored chapstick are gone. The songs have titles like "Something New", "Not the One For Me", and "This Will Never End." Even "Plastic Toy Dream" is about growing up and putting away childish things. The girls are all grown up now, addressing more grown-up problems in a more grown-up way. I have to say that the more abstract lyrics aimed at some "you" in most of the songs was jarring at first, but it fits their updated sound.

The AGSFB have definitely beefed up their sound since their last album for K Records, 2. Most impressive are Kim Baxter's guitar leads and solos, which are in a different league from her previous work. Also, the arrangements are more meticulous, almost fussed-over in the way that harmonies and instruments are layered. It doesn't sound home-recorded, except that you can imagine the girls working on it in the evenings and weekends over a period of years trying to get things just right. For me, Looking Into It loses some of the "summer fun" and charm of the previous records because of this bigger, shinier sound. They didn't even release it until September - where's the summer fun in that?

Luckily, the band's sound has gained as much as it has lost with the new energy and competence, delivering an aggressive but feminine sound that you don't hear too much in indie music these days. You could compare it to Palomar or the Owls, but at times it is most reminiscent of the sharp, edgy pop of late-period Lush (especially their last album, Lovelife.) It's a sound that the world needs more of, and the All Girl Summer Fun Band delivers it in eleven flawless tracks. Even the instrumental title track has an infectious hook, and a couple slow numbers in the second half provide a nice counterpoint to the album's first six uptempo tracks. The collaboration on this album is more seamless as well, without some of the jarring instrument-switching and songwriting differences from their earlier records. The album's final track, "This Will Never End" brings the album to a closing high point, building on a great "uh-uh-uh-oh!" vocal hook from Kim, riding Kathy's propulsive drumming. Hopefully, the song is telling us that the girls are grown up, but we haven't heard the last of them.

"This Will Never End" by the All Girl Summer Fun Band