All Girl Summer Fun Band

The name really does say it all. This quartet of Portland scenesters and band veterans is purely estrogen-fuelled, and their mission statement is to produce floating-lightly-in-sandals fun. What shines through are obvious influences of ’60s girl group harmonising (without placing priority on, well, harmonising) and of distorted, punky sass-meisters like Sleater-Kinney and the Runaways. But this is not pop punk that’s sniffin’ glue (more likely Prozac or the love drug); rather, it simply sticks like glue. Whether they’re professing their love for anti-celeb ex-sk8tr boi Jason Lee, warning that their love for boy #2 is like a "t-t-t-t-ticking timebomb,” or asking boy #3’s parents for their son’s hand in marriage (notice a theme yet?), they do it all with charming melodic infectiousness. It seems the ex-riot grrrls have chosen to kill ‘em with kindness, and the immediacy works. But we must know: (to paraphrase none other than Don Henley) will our love for you still be strong after the boys of summer are gone? Or is this a seasonal fling? Well, the impression left is something like that of a pal you’ve kept in touch with since grade two and listened to her annoying and whiny guy troubles from the sleepover to the bar crawl — whether you like it or not, you’ll have an ear cocked. Oh, and on their last release (this is the sophomoric outing), they serenaded all the Canadian Boyfriends out there. Crushing yet?