Review
Cheap Girls
Giant Orange

It takes approximately 30 seconds to decide whether or not Cheap Girls’ latest album, Giant Orange, is to your liking. The overall, upbeat feel of the album is firmly established within the first few lines of “Gone All Summer,” instantly pulling you into the downtrodden world of bassist/vocalist Ian Graham and co. and not letting up once throughout. Combined with guitarist Adam Aymor and drummer Ben Graham, Cheap Girls are immediately reminiscent of iconic alternative rock bands like Dinosaur Jr., comfortably riding a wave of high-strung riffs and melodic choruses.

Hailing from Lansing, Michigan, the trio joins an already extensive list of Midwestern rock bands hellbent on making the day-to-day a little less tedious and bleak simply through loud, abrasive rock ‘n’ roll. Produced by Against Me!’s own Laura Jane Grace, Giant Orange is more polished than Cheap Girls’ 2009 release My Roaring 20s, but still contains the anthemic choruses and driving verses notable of their sound. What it lacks in the raw feel of previous efforts is more than compensated for with how huge and overbearing Giant Orange sounds (no pun intended). Chugging along at a steady pace and clocking in at a little more than half an hour, this 10-song collection is about as energetic and fun as it gets.

In contrast to the bright and lively nature of the music, Graham carries a tone of frustration and helplessness in every track. “Hard to look alive when the past is so present,” is uttered before diving into the sweeping refrain on “On/Off Switches,” only a small sample of the bleak themes at work. However, it all blends into a cohesive, optimistic result in the end and shows how to make the best out of a past that just won’t leave you the fuck alone. Even the acoustic “Cored To Empty” and “If You Can’t Swim,” easily the fastest song on Giant Orange, don’t sound out of place and add a refreshing shift, while still maintaining the infectious sing-a-longs and undercurrent of rambling spirit.

Giant Orange is without a doubt Cheap Girls’ most consistent release to date. The 3 years in between full-lengths has culminated into one of the year’s best records that transcends labels of punk and rock and whatever the hell else the kids are calling music these days. With a live show that only brings an added element of bursting energy, Cheap Girls are well on their way to establishing themselves as another massive, proverbial footprint in the rock ‘n’ roll landscape. Giant Orange leaves only more to be desired from the Midwestern trio and it’ll be exciting to see what they come up with next. As Graham mentions over and over in the closing moments of the album, “we always think of the right way last.”