AMG Review of Everything Goes Wrong

Tim Sendra
All Music Guide

There's something noble about sticking to your guns and riding out the backlash, something impressive about ignoring the hype and nonsense and making the album you want to make, damn the critics and blast the consequences. The Vivian Girls found themselves in a whirl of hype, plaudits, and indie rock-sized success after the release of their self-titled debut album in 2008. They quickly found themselves at the forefront of a lo-fi noise pop scene that took off very fast and crashed just as quickly as people moved on to the next thing. To their credit, the Girls didn't move on and Everything Goes Wrong sounds very much like the first album: short, sharp, and punky songs influenced by C-86, shoegaze, girl groups, and classic punk rock played with a ramshackle abandon and with no real musical chops. The Vivian Girls have not wavered from their chosen sound one bit, and for that you have to respect them. If you liked the trio's first album, there will be plenty here for you to like as well.