Girls on Film
Stickfigure
Fresh from a stint as Zooey Deschanel's backing band in by-the-numbers comedy "Yes Man," all-girl trio Von Iva step out on their own with "Girls on Film (*wink wink* or bad Duran Duran reference?), an album drenched in the bad drugs and worse hangover of Noughties clubland hedonism. Von Iva have stripped down their sound to a blandly modern synth/rhythm affair, redolent of bad DFA or Shiny Toy Guns. Singer Jillian Iva does that pseudo-soulful diva thing, while the instrumental backdrop is pounding four-to-the-floor beats and utterly obvious booming synths. The songs are bland and tentative, the performances feel forced. This just feels like a blatant grab for the lastnightsparty or Cobrasnake demographic. Boooooooooring. That said, stardom is most likely imminent.
- Matthew Moyer
