The Fresh & Onlys - Grey-Eyed Girls (2009) [Woodist] // Grade: B

Three releases in a year might seem overly eager and off-putting, but San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys have an ambitious agenda for 2009 that includes the consecutive output of a trio of albums that build from the band’s rough-edged, self-titled release earlier in the year, to the more melodic and refined Grey-Eyed Girls and eventually ending with a forthcoming studio release.

The band’s second release, Grey-Eyed Girls, is leaps away from The Fresh & Onlys debut, leaving behind much of the fuzzy garage influence and running towards charming, hook-centric indie rock. Marked by fewer lo-fi leanings and less reliance on heavily guitar-driven compositions, the five-piece act have significantly matured, embracing a better balance of melody and complementary backing instrumentation along the way. While vocalist Tim Cohen’s lyrics often felt buried on earlier releases, Grey-Eyed Girls allows his pop-referential hooks to finally take the spotlight they deserve. With his voice fully unveiled to fans, it’s uncanny how much Cohen brings to mind Stephin Merritt. His low, flat voice, coupled with sing-along lyrics and the vocal backing support of Heidi Alexander make much of Grey-Eyed Girls sound like an unreleased side project from The Magnetic Fields. This comparison is particularly evident in two of the album’s standout tracks, “What’s His Shadow Still Doing Here” and “I’m Gonna Be Your Elevator”. The remainder of the album runs the gamut, incorporating elements of indie, garage, psych and good old-fashioned rock & roll for a sound that’s chock full of variance and never boring.

I’m still not quite sure whether to reject or embrace The Fresh & Onlys agenda of three releases in a single year, but examined on its own, Grey-Eyed Girls is an easily likable album that, if nothing else, has me wildly curious what direction the band will reveal with their upcoming formal studio album, slated for release on label In the Red.

- Scrooge McFuck