The Beautiful Girls

The Beautiful
Girls
Water (Cornerstone Ras
Records; October 2006)

Having stormed their way through town earlier this year as part
of a national tour in support of the highly acclaimed
We’re Already Gone, The Beautiful Girls
became an overnight success – all over again. While that album might have served as an
introduction to this gritty Australian ensemble for most American
fans, the Sydneysiders have been carving out their distinctive
musical niche for some time now. And an insight into the intricacy
of their handiwork has recently surfaced in the form of a
compilation album titled Water. Drawn from a series of
recordings released prior to We’re Already Gone,
Water offers a chronological exploration of the band’s
dynamic back catalogue. From “Periscopes,” the opening song on
their recorded debut Morning Sun, to the gorgeous “I Need
To Give This Broken Heart Away” from Weight Of The World,
Water encompasses five previously released recordings. But
this offering is much more than a musical catalogue. It is both an
enchanting insight into a mounting musical force here in the States
and an insight into why this band has been blowing away critics in
their homeland for so long.