Customer Reviews

Good Health

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Legendary. That isn't a word that is used often, especially with today's music. Everyone sounds like someone else. This often leads to fame, glory and big bucks, but it also leads to being forgotten. These cookie-cutter sounds are certainly not legendary. There are, however, a few groups that may be heading toward legendary status and Pretty Girls Make Graves is one of them.
It's a long drive to Lawrence. Along the way I had time to think. I was mostly hoping that this `legendary' band lived up to the hype. There is a lot of buildup surrounding the Pretty Girls. You see P.G.M.G. are somewhat of a supergroup. It features various members of Kill Sadie, Deathwish Kids and the beloved Murder City Devils. This will be hard to live up to.
Pretty Girls Make Graves definitely live up to the hype. With their backgrounds, they even surpass it. They are taking their experiences from different bands to form a very cohesive and stellar whole.
P.G.M.G. started their set with the first song off the album `Good Health'. The song, `Speakers Push the Air' is about the music that changes your life. Even though the song was performed brilliantly, I was a little disappointed. I thought this meant that they were going to hustle through every song in the order of the album and then call it a night.
This fear was unfounded. They launched into `Chemical, Chemical' a song off of their upcoming album, `A New Romance'. This song was musically complex and the lyrics were electric. All I could think at this point was that the new album will be exceptional.
As the night went on, Pretty Girls Make Graves played more songs off of their current album. ` More Sweet Soul' was an audience favorite. `If you hate your friends, your not Alone' inspired some thrashing and head bobs.
One of my many favorites of the evening was, `By the Throat'. This is a somewhat angry and rebellious song featuring lyrics like, ` I am choking and I can't breathe.' This song is good on `Good Health', and it is flawless live. Andrea Zollo's vocals were the perfect focal point for this song. Her schoolyard girl gang taunts were cynical and [upset] with an awesome sense of melody. J.Clark's guitar gave the song soul and depth. He did a great job in Nathan Thelen's absence. Nick DeWitt's drumming was powerful and gave the song its raging backbone. Derek Fudesco's bass made the floor shake with rhythm and it made us want to dance our aggressions away.
Another favorite of the evening was the lovely and melodic song, `The Getaway'. This song is a stunning keyboard infused melody. Live, this sweet song about running away from all your problems and frustrations with someone you love was clearly epic. P.G.M.G. showed us that they were talented musicians that could handle anything, even a love song. It was the emotional high point of the show.
As the show continued on the band played more songs of their current album, some songs off the previous e.p. and more new and exciting songs from the upcoming album.
They inspired the whole audience. The girls wanted to be tough, but cool like Andrea. The boys where mimicking Derek and J with there air guitars and air bass, respectively. I even caught a few toward the back thrashing and drumming like Nick. We danced and in some cases, head-bobbed our way into the evening.
That night proved that Pretty Girls Make Graves were more than a flavor of the week band. They are here to stay. This band has a sincere love of what they do and that is what will make them legendary.

Expressing my praise and love for this record is very hard to do in an amazon.com review. What I can say, however, is that this record is just what I love about punk rock that is intelligent, well composed, well played, and full of f*cking energy. Every song is crammed with more shout along choruses, guitar hooks, and such energy that I didn't think was possible for a 'punk' record these days. It has been in my car since I got it and has gotten about 30 spins where I never have to skip a song. Andrea's vocal performance is really outstanding, whereas if a male was fronting this band it would just not be as powerful. I guarantee you will be singing along to every song, if you are not you surely are lifeless. Therefore, if you are looking for a record in today's mostly stagnant genre that will make you believe again, look no further.

I'll go ahead and get this out of the way right now. Girls singing punk are hot, and Andrea ranks with the hottest of them. Her charismatic and energetic vocals are tough to resist, and her presence is a large part of what drives the album. Fortunately, all hotness aside, this record still manages to cram more kickin guitar and vocal hooks into a less than 30-minute CD than should even be possible, and keeps them coming fast and furious throught the duration of the record, make the whole thing one heck of a fun ride. Granted, there's little here that hasn't been done before, but the energy and quality that is apparent here more than makes up for some similarities to other bands. Many will call this band a shameless rip-off of At the Drive-In or Les Savy Fav, and they may even be right, but good music is good music. It's best to just forget your pretenses and enjoy Good Health as the best At the Drive-In record of 2002. Or if you want to give them a label critic-style, you can say that they're "the next At the Drive-In", but it's all pretty irrelevant--Good Health is a fun album that rocks hard, and although it's a little too short, every minute is captivating. It's well worth buying for anyone looking for that great rarity in music nowadays--a good punk band. And the fact that Andrea's vocal performance transcends hotness doesn't hurt.

Sure, I agree with other reviewers, it didn't really blow me away or anything, but it is really good music, definitely. Definitely worth your time and money, either album. Oh, and by the way, to anyone that didn't know, the name comes from a Smiths song.

this band really rocks, i saw them last night as an opener for Saves The Day, I bought the CD and rocked out the whole way home. I wasnt expecting them to be so intense and awesome. Thanks for a rockin show.

Is it just me or does Matador kinda remind you of that big amorphous blob that merges with everything at the end of Akira. What's with them snatching up all of my favorite bands. They have enough talent, leave everyone else alone. Lookout did a much better job with this disc then Matador did with the follow up. I've had this CD for almost a year and I'm just getting around to the review now. This album is like a 26 minute adreniline rush with 1 minute break to cool down in the middle. I love the way ideas fly at you from every direction and by the time you latch on to something, theyve already thrown it out and are on to the next thing. Theres more hooks in this half hour of music than the rest of my music collection combined. I can't even begin to tell you how blown away I still am from this album.

Yeah, I hate my "friends" too. This is punk for "people with nothing in their eyes" or destructively nihilistic tendencies. It honestly sounds like Exene Cervenka fronting At the Drive-In. Or something. Anyway, "Speakers Push the Air" is up there with my favorite songs this year. "Sad Girls Por Vida," "The Get Away," "Ghosts in the Radio," and, my personal second-place favorite, "By the Throat" all carry similar potential. The album as a whole could have been more powerful, farther out, the lyrics need just a little work, and it's only 27 minutes! That's not enough, even for a punk debut. Especially when the music is this good. Top 20 of 2002.
Any band with a name from Jack Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums" has to be worth it.

Whoa, this is a pretty damn good record think about it for a few minutes, Lookout has probably only realesed two or three good records this millenium (don't argue this you know I'm right the Pattern suck ass) and this is one of them. Let me tell you this there so much rock in this, not copy cat rock that so many kids are clammering up to these days, but true creative rock and roll plus much more. You reall can't pigeonhole this one it is truly a many sided record, just you gotta hear it. The lyrics are fantastic and the girl singer looks pretty good too! No joke and that is always a plus when one member of a said band is easy on the eye you know we all get bored of watching sweaty dudes on the stage. It gots female lyrics and this gal know how to sing to intice goodness it is a good record, so if it is female and it isn't rap I am okay with it. --> MIC!

This is a very talented band with a strong vocalist who rocks a good live show. With members springing out of the Murder City Devils, Kill Sadie, Death Wish Kids and the Beehive Vaults this group has definitely got some experience and it shows.
Don't miss them when they come by your town and make sure your record collection has a slice of Pretty Girls Make Graves.:0

The lead singer has a very nasaly, unintersting voice. The lyrics are decent (and improve with each album) but I really feel that her voice is holding the band back because pgmg are excellente musicians and she is the only reason not to listen to them.

And she lacks stage presence.