The Jealous Girlfriends - The Jealous Girlfriends

by Tom Mendelsohn

Indie in the New York fashion

"Sometimes a fella does some singing, sometimes it’s a lady. Sometimes they both do it. Sometimes, they clamp down hard on their FX pedals, and sometimes they just strum."

There isn’t a huge amount to say about The Jealous Girlfriends. They’re a well-kept secret, unlikely to appear on the cover of NME for reasons of popularity, and just as unlikely to receive records made of precious metals for their unit-moving prowess. They make ‘indie’ in the New York fashion; atmospheric and guitar-y sounding, and it’s OK. That’s it, really; their work is resoundingly average – absolutely nothing wrong with it, quite pleasant to the ears if you don’t look too hard for strokes of genius, little else to report.

Sometimes a fella does some singing, sometimes it’s a lady. Sometimes they both do it. Sometimes, they clamp down hard on their FX pedals, and sometimes they just strum. There isn’t much about their music to recommend it above and beyond any of their peers – there’re no moments of special lyrical dexterity or pithy slogans, and no choruses which really make you sit up and listen. There isn’t much to hate about them, either – no irritating vocal tics and no jarring musical faux-pas.

In all fairness, we’d probably really enjoy them live, and though we sound super-soporific about them at the moment, we do quite enjoy them on wax. They're an eminently solid band, with nice tunes and a certain degree of charm. You just won't fall in love with them.
John Y. said on April 27th 2008 [report abuse]

Hello, I've fallen in love with them. Unfortunately, their best song wasn't included in the album, and is only found live or streamed via MySpace.

md said on June 24th 2008 [report abuse]

who do you think is better then by the way? hmmm?? MGMT, vampire weekend? those bands suck but somehow to their luck got hyped up. i think i will listen to the new york and la times, which they are quoted both as saying the jealous girlfriends are one of the best new bands in new york. they are awesome everyone! go see them live!

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