Review Summary: Rich girls move past the sound of silence and deliver the laughs on debut EP.
Just in case we're unclear, you haven't stumbled across some long-lost collaboration between the oft-forgotten halves of two of the eighties' most dynamic duos. This is Garfunkel and Oates, a comedy/folk double-team consisting of two ladies that might seem like shy dorks – see the cover for all the proof you may need – yet are more than willing to throw a rant or two about aspects of society that grind their gears. “Pregnant women are smug,” for example - “You're just giving birth now/You're not Mother Earth now.” Sure, it's all major chords and sweet harmonies, but there's still plenty of kick to their debut EP, the inventively titled
Music Songs. Riki Lindhorne (Garfunkel) and Kate Miccuci (Oates, whom will be recognised by
Scrubs fans as Ted's girlfriend Gooch) get far much more genuine humour out of life's stranger situations as any “funny thing happened on the way here” comedic schmuck – and although short in length, there's more than enough to enjoy here.
Awkward encounters with men get quite the serving on
Music Songs. It starts off nicely enough - “It's finally me and you/and you and me/Just us...” - until it all comes plummeting down when they zoom out on the picture: “...and your friend Steve.” If you've ever known the pain of the proverbial 'third wheel' then you'll hear it all painted in the funniest way possible on “Me, You and Steve.” Naturally, it doesn't end well, but you'll be damned if the “do do do” chorus isn't uplifting as all get out. Elsewhere, our heroines find themselves in another awkward best-friend situation when they realise a male friend wants more than to play
Dance Dance Revolution until they win a key-chain in the ukulele-led “I Would Never (Have Sex With You),” emphasising the title in the refrain with the line “believe me, you'd know it if I wanted to.”
The biggest kerfuffle, however, comes with “One Night Stand” - which, at four minutes length, is the longest song on the EP and possibly their magnum opus. As the title may suggest, it's an out-of-character seduction, using some of the nerdiest pick-up lines known to humankind (“There are 206 bones in my body/And I'd really like one more” and “You can call me coffee bean/'Cause I know just how to grind” just some examples). It sweeps and builds up to the morning after, and then spirals into further hilarious melodrama – truly the stand out of the lot here.
Two sweet-natured numbers of endearment and admiration end
Music Songs in “Silver Lining” and “As You Are.” The former keeps some of the twisted humour as they encourage a friend to move on (“You're better than that/So get out your bat and bash his memory!”), yet the latter will catch you off guard with not only its intentional lack of humour, but just how pretty the song itself is. Lindhorne and Miccuci trade verses as they try to show their lover that, for all the flaws they see in themselves, they really are just fine the way they are. Yes, they spend most of their time sending up everyone and everything else, but the women that make up Garfunkel & Oates are warm, relatable people – give them two minutes of your time and they can prove it.
It's all over within twenty minutes, but
Music Songs is an absolute hoot of an EP. The replay value is high, the writing is sharp and the laughs are aplenty – these gorgeous women have it set. Just try not to ask about pregnant women or ex-boyfriends.
