To the uninitiated, the phrase “pretty girls make graves” used as a band name may evoke images of vicious, Courtney Love-esque harpies screaming over poorly orchestrated death metal. The name is borrowed from a song by ‘80s guitar pop geniuses The Smiths, but this band’s sound is somewhat closer to the maniacally aggressive punk and post-hardcore of At the Drive-In. Even guitarist Jay Clark said,”I don’t know how we come up with what we do; I can’t figure it out yet.”
The band’s second full length album, The New Romance, was released Sept. 9 on Matador Records to widespread critical acclaim. The new work retains much of the first album’s trademark hostile punk riffing over well-constructed melodies, while exploring a darker sensibility reminiscent of New Wave revivalists like Interpol. Clark described the band members as “all influenced by really different things.” Bassist Derek Fudesco listens to ‘80s New Wave, while drummer Nick Dewitt prefers Captain Beefheart. Singer Andrea Zollo’s influences are similar to those of Fudesco, while guitarist Nathan Thelen only listens to the Beatles. As for his own tastes, Clark said, “I listen to a lot of dub and jazz and hardcore … it’s really eclectic.”
The album’s first single, “This Is Our Emergency,” features the sort of catchy, poppy melody hidden in growling guitar arrangements that the band has become well-known for over its short career. Tracks like “All Medicated Geniuses” and “The Teeth Collector” are full of the frantic, guitar-driven rock and dueling vocals that has gained the band so many comparisons to At the Drive-In. Other songs, such as the brief, electronic experimentation of “7” and “Mr. Club” and the darker, bass-driven “Blue Lights” indicate the group’s vision of what lies ahead.
The Pretty Girls Make Graves aesthetic as it exists now, and as concertgoers are likely to see it in the band’s show next Wednesday at the Black Cat, is most coherently expressed on one of the album’s strongest tracks, “The Grandmother Wolf.” All of the aforementioned sounds come together, alternating between urgent bursts of punk and sparser, quieter, New Wave influenced grooves. Clark said, “Generally there’s one basic idea that starts from one of us, we just go from there and usually end up destroying that idea anyway and writing something from that.”
The members are all veterans of other, lesser known indie bands, the most well-known of which is Derek Fudesco’s work with Murder City Devils. However, the band is rapidly carving out a legacy of its own in the indie scene, regardless of their previous associations. Early in the band’s touring career, many concertgoers were Murder City Devils fans coming to see Fudesco, but his former band hasn’t loomed over Pretty Girls as Clark thought it might. The band’s switch from Lookout! Records to the more prominent Matador for the release of The New Romance is emblematic of their rapid ascension. While discussing their next step, the band concluded that they would “definitely not go to a major label; no one was really into that idea,” Clark said. The offer from Matador “seemed like the right thing to do,” said Clark and was “probably the last step up we’re going to take” in terms of moving between labels.
With its multifaceted offerings, The New Romance certainly warrants the critical praise and rapid rise Pretty Girls Make Graves have been enjoying since their self-titled 2002 debut EP. As might be expected, Clark thinks that the album would have turned out even better if there had been more time to record it, but the band is happy with the results. “At the time, there were moments when we were like, ‘Aw, no, not ready’ and we were kind of bummed out, but in retrospect, everyone’s really happy and excited about it.”
Pretty Girls Make Graveswill be playing at the Black Cat on Oct.15. Black Cat is located at 1811 14th St., N.W.
