Vivian Girls

Emerging from the late-2000s lo-fi indie scene, the Brooklyn-based trio Vivian Girls distinguished themselves through an engaging and approachable sound. They took their name from the doomed figures that populated the writings and drawings of Henry Darger, fusing girl group melancholy with punk nihilism inside reverb-drenched tracks whose gritty, unpolished charm echoed the lesser-known 1990s independents Black Tambourine, Talulah Gosh, and Tiger Trap. During their first seven years together the band circled the globe and issued a steady stream of recordings, with the catchy hooks and distorted drive of their 2008 self-titled debut proving influential on its own.

Vivian Girls came together in 2007, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Cassie Ramone (Grzymkowski), bassist/vocalist Kickball Katy (Goodman), and drummer/vocalist Frankie Rose. They cut a quick demo and performed regularly around New York. Their raw yet melodic approach gained traction fast, so within months the group was supporting national acts such as Sonic Youth and headlining Brooklyn club dates. Across 2008 they put out several 7" singles on assorted small imprints—“Wild Eyes” (Plays with Dolls Records), “Orphanage” (Woodsist Records), and “I Can’t Stay” (In the Red Records). Rose departed in July 2008, yet she had already tracked the songs that became the band’s first album. The self-titled debut appeared on Mauled by Tigers that September; its initial pressing of 500 vinyl copies sold out inside ten days. In the Red soon reissued the LP for broader reach, and the trio—now featuring new drummer Ali Koehler—spent the remainder of the year touring internationally and building a global audience.

Their swiftly made second album, Everything Goes Wrong, arrived in late summer 2009. After another drummer change in summer 2010 (Koehler joined Best Coast and was succeeded by Fiona Campbell of Coasting) and a pause for side projects (Ramone started Babies with Woods bassist Kevin Morby, while Goodman launched La Sera alongside Brady Hall), the Vivian Girls returned to the studio at the end of 2010 to cut their third record. Share the Joy came out on Polyvinyl in April 2011.

The band dissolved in 2014 and the members concentrated on solo endeavors. They stayed in touch, however, and in 2018 Ramone, Goodman, and Koehler convened privately to begin work on a new album with producer Rob Barbato. The sessions yielded 2019’s Memory, issued by Polyvinyl that September.