Retro Review: “The Whole Scene Going” by Girlpope

The Buffalo music scene is never the first mention when American cities are brought up in musical conversation. People are quick to reference the explosive trap scene in Atlanta, the country and rock scenes in Nashville, and the vast array of acts from L.A., but Buffalo never seems to make it to the conversation table. Which is a shame given the talent and variety of music present in this great city in the present and past.

This retro review is of an album called “The Whole Scene Going” by Girlpope, a gutsy rock quartet from the Nickel City’s secret scene, released in 1999. (For context, this record is about as old as I am.)

Imagine the melodic influence of the ’60s and ’70s power-pop greats combined with a dusting of punk attitude and grit. That’s this record. It’s a difficult balancing act to make music with memorable melodies and performances while also not forgetting about the raw root of the emotional content, but this record does this well.

The first thing that took me by surprise with this record was the variance and quality of guitar tones. Everyone listens to music with different objectives in mind, and as someone who has an ear for production, mix, and tone way before melodic and lyrical content, this record jumps out to me for its high effort and quality. Track 3, “Real Whigged Out, ” summons the barking “transparent overdrive” sounds of the early Beatles and the Kinks. These qualities, paired with a transistor organ countermelody, bring this track straight back to the 1960s in a very cool way. 

From their online bios and writing style, you can tell that Girlpope’s influences include not just the Kinks, but also Bowie and the Beatles (I specifically get an aura of “Rubber Soul” from this record), in their vocal melodies, layered harmonies, and chord progressions. The intense and powerful distillation of these classic rock elements, combined with massive power-pop tones, gives this record a killer combo of classic schmooze with all the precision of late ’90s rock. I would relate a record like this to a classic Porsche with a hybrid engine. 

On tracks like “The One Rich Starts,” you can almost hear a budding, pre-2000s New York indie sound formingm with thick guitar tones, simple but effective arrangement, unique melody, distorted vocals, and a heavy-handed chorus that breaks up the driving energy of the verses. The Christmas bells in the breakdown bridge is a lovable touch as well (it’s so Ramones).

Another thing I enjoy about this album is the courage to enter ska-punk territory with the ending track, “Too Much.” This record is definitely dating itself to the late ’90s with the arrangement and mixing choice of the horn section on this track, but as a lifelong fan of ska, I certainly have no complaints.

Overall, I enjoyed this record and would recommend it to fans of power-pop, ’90s rock, and the Beatles and the Kinks. It’s a bit unfortunate to know that Girlpope is now retired, but such is life with local music scenes. That doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy their music today. If you check it out and like this record, send them some cash for it on Bandcamp or any other platform where music is available. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it!