New Release Spotlight: Some Girls

Sept/Oct 2003—Alternately kittenish and aloof but always magnetic, Juliana Hatfield’s voice has been a consistent presence in the world of independent rock since the Blake Babies first stepped onto the scene with 1987’s Nicely, Nicely. Through Blake Babies records like Earwig and Sunburn, and later with her outstanding solo work, Hatfield established herself as a compelling songwriter, vocalist and something of an indie pop star. Now moving forward while, in some ways, coming full circle, she has teamed up with Blake Babies drummer Freda Love (also of Antenna and Mysteries of Life) and bass player/multi-instrumentalist Heidi Gluck (the Pieces) to form Some Girls. The material on their first effort, Feel It, is understated, sexy and grooving and finds Love coming into her own as a songwriter while presenting some of the most cohesive work Hatfield has ever done with a band.

“I had a really good time playing with Freda and wanted to continue playing with her in some capacity that wasn’t the Blake Babies,” Hatfield explains. After the Babies’ tour behind their 2001 “reunion” record, she and Love began tentatively collaborating via mail. “We weren’t exactly sure what we wanted to do,” Love says. “We were both working on songs and sending tapes, but it took a while to really formulate the idea for a band. Once Heidi came in and recorded with us, that’s when it felt like a band.”

It could be Love and Hatfield’s longstanding work together or the nature of the trimmed, economical songs, but Some Girls don’t just sound like a band — they sound like one that’s been together for a long, long time. Love agrees and says, “We have a lot in common historically, musically, and I think it’s a natural thing that’s reflected in the cohesive sound of the record.” The playing is intuitive, and the songs are full of the stuff of indie rock fans’ dreams — immediate, gutsy and a little sleazy.

Recorded over the less-than-generous span of a week, the record is injected with the sort of nervous, electric energy that earmarked the ’80s college rock from which Hatfield and Love sprang. “It was done fast, but it didn’t feel like we were scrambling or rushing,” Hatfield says. “It just flowed really easily. It’s not slick, and there’s nothing on it that doesn’t need to be there.” Love adds, “We didn’t have time to fuss over it or over-think it, which can be a trap sometimes.”

Far ranging in its style and approach, Feel It includes straightforward and surly pop gems like the single “Necessito,” the Velvet Underground-meets-New Order groove of the standout opener “Feel It,” and a moody first-take reexamination of Robert Johnson’s “Malted Milk.”

Freda Love proves herself a formidable songwriter here, with songs like “The Getaway” and “Launch Pad” serving as certain highlights to the record. “I wrote a couple of songs for the Blake Babies CD [God Bless the Blake Babies] and felt like I really started to delve into songwriting,” she explains. “Juliana was so encouraging that I just kind of went with it and wound up writing a lot more than I expected I would.”

Her songs and Hatfield’s blend beautifully, and their co-writes fuse seamlessly. “It’s so great to have a songwriting partner because I can be lazy and just have a momentary inspiration, and then Juliana can, with her skill as a songwriter, finish it up and make sense,” Love says. Hatfield adds, “It’s fun for me to take what Freda has and expand on it and work with something that’s already there. It’s kind of liberating. It takes the pressure off me and makes the songwriting process more mysterious because I’m not in control of the whole thing. I’m working with something and trying to blend in with it.”

With limited time and budget (and the help of Jake Smith as producer), Some Girls have created an honest record that is pared down to its essence — drums, bass, guitar, vocals and lovely ornamentation provided by Gluck’s lap steel and harmonica. Ultimately, it’s the songs that are most important, and the Girls don’t disappoint. These strong, smart pop tunes are given the room they need to breathe and aren’t cluttered with too much studio trickery. “People spend too much time and money making records,” Hatfield says. “We didn’t really have a budget at all, and that forces you to be creative and to do what you can in a short amount of time. Having no money is a good tool, I think. It forces you to make the most of your time.

—Clay Steakley
Reprinted from Performing Songwriter