Girls - Honey Bunny

San Francisco outfit Girls’ latest offering is a glorious piece of wonky foot-shuffling surf-pop which has drawn comparisons to ELO and Belle and Sebastian. With lead singer Christopher Owens’ wavering vocals and backing-singer harmonies, it’s not so hard to see where these comparisons have sprung from. The song contains the sort of lyrics that I expect many an awkward teenage boy will be able to relate to; "they don’t like my bony body, they don’t like my dirty hair..." And Owens’ trademark "whining" (his words) voice only adds to the sense of longing and wishful thinking; the line "I want a woman who loves me, me, me, me..." is sung with such fragility it could break your heart. But the slightly sombre lyrics don’t detract from the rich guitars and rumbling drums of this slightly fuzzy and very summery song (It does make you wonder, however, whether it is being released a little late in the year.)

Girls may have been criticised for being "unoriginal", and they are certainly playing it safe with this single, but those rattling drums and Chris’ heartfelt lyrics mean that this is a pretty damn good comeback. The song leaves you pining for scorching summer’s days spent on a really cool road trip in a soft top car like they do in the movies. Proper pop.

By Holly Read-Challen