R.I.P. Girls (the band)

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(these emoticons are crying)

Let the wails of protest and lament commence, for I deeply regret to inform the WRMC community that San Francisco-via-the Children of God cult  (no, but really) garage-rock duo Girls is no longer an active music-making unit. Founder and frontman Christopher Owens announced that he would no longer be a member of Girls this morning on his Twitter; view the tweets in question here, via Pretty Much Amazing. Needless to say, this is totally devastating, since Girls are one of the better bands of this young millennium, responsible for 2009's classic Album  as well as worthy follow-ups Broken Dreams Club EP (2010) and Father, Son, Holy Ghost (2011). Pitchfork has proposed that the other half of the band, Chet "JR" White, might continue the band without Owens, but since the heart and soul of the band's singular sound is Owen's rough-edged Elvis Costello whine and desperate, heavily bruised, and thoroughly drug-addled persona, that seems unlikely. Owens, meanwhile, claims this doesn't mean the end of his career as a singer, songwriter, and musician; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be praised!

(And let me [one of] the first to add that I am so, so glad this has apparently nothing to do with the HBO series Girls; if there was beef 'twixt these identically-named, equally cool but very different 2010s blogosphere darlings, I wouldn't know whose side to take!)

Watch the (VERY NSFW) video for Girls' basically perfect 2009 beach-bum anthem "Lust For Life" here (via Pitchfork), featuring a fully exposed Hunx (of Bay Area queer garage-rock group Hunx & His Punx). And below, also via Pitchfork, watch a lovely live performance of 2011's "Vomit."