Music  |  Reviews  Girls: Father, Son, Holy Ghost  [True
Panther/Matador]  September 13, 2011  |  4:23pm Girls:
<i>Father, Son, Holy Ghost</i>  When the San Francisco band
Girls released its debut album, simply titled Album, in 2009,
frontman Christopher Owens’ backstory threatened to eclipse his
musical accomplishment. He had grown up in a religious cult and
had been sheltered from pop music and pop culture for most of
his life. When he escaped, he embraced the Beach Boys, Elvis
Costello, Black Sabbath, Skeeter Davis, and The Ramones all with
equal zeal, which allowed him to turn all those disparate
elements into joyful, unassuming, endlessly catchy indie pop.
For that reason, while he can pen a melody that’ll put you in
mind of Pet Sounds, his approach to music has never been
academic.  Instead, it’s allowed a form of self-expression so
specific and intense that it approaches autobiography. “I’ve
been messing with so many girls who could give a damn about who
I am,” he sings on opener “Honey Bunny.” “They d