elan vital

that is the title of the new pretty girls make graves record which i have just downloaded and am listening to. i'm about halfway thru it, and it uh...sucks. the tempos drag. the production is a muddy mess. the arrangements directionless. much as when i saw them live last halloween. the keyboardist doesn't do shit on most of the songs. oh god, here's the accordion song, ack! sure y'all wanna broaden yr sonic palette, but damn, write some fucking songs, plz! on about half the songs the singer has her vocals way over processed with distortion and echo, and it just doesn't work. they're trying to be more gang of four, or even les savy fav, but there is just no energy to the performances. what's the point then? pgmg was all about the energy when they first came out. but this shit just drags in all it's under-cooked over-arranged lethargy. the guy who quit definitely must have written the good songs on their last albums. too bad. i can't believe matador is releasing this record as it is. they're so gonna be dropped when this doesn't sell. perhaps a lot of this is the producer's fault, but i'm not familiar with his other work. either way, it doesn't sound like a band with confidence, or a band that is playing together. pretty girls squandered potential.