Story Of An Earth Girl

Earth Girl Helen Brown/Story of An Earth Girl
3/28/11

“Nomadic psychedelic folksinger... unique mix of country, girl group, R&B, and ghoulishness." That's Sonny Smith's description of this project, and I'm not going to do better than it.

SF-area Sonny Smith (Sonny & the Sunsets), came up with "100 Records Project"-- 100 fake bands, 100 fake 45s. This is the first EP extension of any of these fake bands. She's a garage-rock astronaut, with plenty to tell about Martians. Whining but effective vocals. (They're by Heidi Alexander of The Sandwitches, though it sounds a bit like man doing a mind-boggling falsetto.)

PLAY: If a fan of the '60s, 1,2,3,4 are all flipping amazing. Track one has the most Martian content-- it's fairly incredible. And if you're in safe harbor, consider 6, an off-color shaggy dog story about Martian noses and Martian sperm.

1. ******* Soaring soul with spacesuits-- arcing, beautiful vocals, and genius spoken bridge-- dialogue between Helen Brown and a Martian (love thwarted by "too many arms and too many heads") (3:08)
2. * Happy-organesque, almost an instrumental. Seriously, the organ is pretty freaking happy. Piping "Cry baby cry" vocals soothed over it, as it falls into bass groove. (3:31)
3. *** This is the freaking catchiest thing I have heard in months of months. Garage backbeat, screechy garage vocals. Simple, pretty braindeadedly simple. But. (2:42)
4. **** Fuzzed out transistor radio sound, cool-in-saddle vocals, the sound of chilled Detroit nights in 1964. The lazy throb of distant guitars is zombiffic, threatening. Male chorus enters in last five seconds, and is authentic, really uncannily so. (2:28)
5. High energy pixie-stick punk-- a little too pipey and twee and one-note. (2:20)
6. ** (FCC: "Pussy", several of them. And then a "Fucked up.") Spoken-word song about intergalactic pregnancy, and how to name a "space-freak". (SPOILER ALERT: name him "Kenneth.") Organ and guitars and tambourine drive it. It's pretty amusing, and definitely really, really fricking weird-- if you're in safe harbor, give it a shot. (3.52)

-Hervey Okkles