June, 2005

Brilliant Hope, Pointed Politics

Girlyman's Ty, Doris and Nate

Girlyman's eagerly-awaited second album is, in the words of the final track, "a little star of brilliant hope." The Brooklyn-based band's three members – Nate Borofsky, Ty Greenstein and Doris Muramtsu – sing these lyrics in perfectly-tuned three-part harmony over the faintest ringing of pedal steel, their voices blending flawlessly, yet remaining distinct: a characteristically Girlyman moment.

Little Star, released last month, follows Girlyman's debut album, Remember Who I Am (2003). The band signed with Amy Ray's indie label, Daemon Records, in August of 2004 after winning a series of honors that year including "Most Wanted to Return" at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the Independent Music Award, and the Outmusic Award for Best New Album.

Girlyman's website describes their music as "Delicious Acoustic Harmony-Driven Gender Pop." You can file Little Star in the contemporary folk section of your CD collection, but be prepared for forays into pop, country, bluegrass, even a little jazz and rock. The album features original songs by each member of the band, and lead vocals shift from one member to another both within and among tracks. This collaborative, ensemble sound, which characterized Remember Who I Am, is even more powerful on Little Star. Band members trade instruments frequently, though most tracks feature Doris on guitar, Ty on percussion and Nate on baritone guitar. Many songs also include a banjo or mandolin. Listen for Julie Wolf, of the Ani Difranco band, on keyboard and accordion and Joe Dye on pedal steel.

Little Star is more overtly political than Remember Who I Am. Girlyman's lyrics allude to current events by addressing the broad, underlying issues behind them. In "Young James Dean," Ty sings in the voice of a woman who refuses to conform to 1950s gender roles: "manager said I had to wear that little uniform/said I was part of the problem." The song's lyrics point succinctly to the link between identity and politics: "I guess I'll feel less than real all my life." War is another major theme. In "Commander," the band asks, in haunting, almost taunting harmony, "Did they take you and make you believe it was clear/when they made you commander and you couldn't be it?"
  Listeners will, no doubt, be reminded of a certain commander in chief, as the band chronicles his past: "When the war came you ran for your life/as your businesses dried."

Many tracks deal with love and confession. Doris's "Speechless" is a love song with a catchy melody, and her "Bird on the Wire" is musically playful, with a slightly strange yet appropriate chord change at the end of the second chorus. Ty's "Genevive" is perhaps the album's sweetest love song, featuring Ty's clear alto voice backed by simple harmony and light instrumentation. Nate's "I Know Where You Are" promises sweetly, "I'll bring you home and carry your shit to the house."

Girlyman's humor and playfulness, coupled with their seriousness about making good music, are winning them a growing number of "girlyfans." Listeners new to the band will want to pick up Remember Who I Am along with Little Star. Both albums are available nationally in CD format, and Remember Who I Am is now on iTunes. Girlyman will hit the folk festival circuit again this summer in their biodiesel-powered van, Bijou. Tour dates and locations are available on their website: www.girlyman.com