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Named after characters created by creepy outsider artist Henry Darger, Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls achieve first-take nirvana on their second album. The female trio follows the lead of the Jesus and Mary Chain, putting classic pop styles through a garage-band meat grinder. Their deadpan voices ranging from sullen self-absorption to glassy-eyed calm, the Girls bring an aura of lurking tension to these familiar tales of boy trouble. With their scraping guitars and rattling drums, “When I’m Gone” and “Can’t Get Over You” feel like warped artifacts of the girl-group era.
