Northsix
Brooklyn
Words by Cameron Cook
Photos by Jay Chen

Could Pretty Girls Make Graves ask for a more eventful day? First, their much-talked-about New York comeback show was downgraded from the Warsaw to Northsix (the collectively-gasped “ouch!” was heard all through the far reaches of hipsterdom), then guitarist Jay Clarke slashed his Achilles’ tendon in the band’s van before the show, Pet Sematary-style, forcing the band to cut their set a little short. But that’s the rock life, eh? The band were on tour to promote their upcoming third opus, lan Vital, following up 2003’s much-acclaimed The New Romance. The pressure is on, as they say: Romance spawned some of the more fondly remembered songs of that year, and the initial impact of Vital will be very telling of how long PGMG will be rocking the future.

The last time ‘Sup laid eyes on the Girls, they were blowing our minds out of our skulls at Dim Mak’s 2003 CMJ showcase, but as the band are about to show the packed floor, much has changed since then. Sometime last year guitarist Nathan Thelan left the band and was replaced by keyboardist Leona Marrs, and while we’d really, truly love to say it was for the better, we’re just not so sure. Old favorites like “The Grandmother Wolf” and “Chemical, Chemical” came off as light and somewhat vacant, leaving us longing for that extra punch that made PGMG such an amazing band to begin with. We sorely missed the Jay/Nathan guitar marriage that birthed the riffs that carried so many of Romance’s gems. Is it possible to be nostalgic for a band that’s still around?

That said, as soon as the words “This is a new song” left singer Andrea Zollo’s glossy little lips, our frowns were immediately turned upside-down. If this show is anything to go by, lan Vital will be one of 2006’s strongest rock albums, fact. The ostensibly first single “The Nocturnal House” (already posted on matadorrecords.com), features Andrea rocking a whistle, bassist Derek Fudesco on shout-along backing vocals, and some serious rump-shaking basslines. In one of the highlights of the evening, the band performed a soaring new number, an uplifting crescendo which saw Andrea belting the line “again and again” during the chorus (no idea what it was called. Anyone know? Comment in the field below). It was a touching song that evoked nothing but blue skies up ahead. Hopefully, Pretty Girls Make Graves can only go forward from here.

Download “The Nocturnal House” here.