Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste
Since first emerging in a musical environment that favored different flavors of post-punk, Pretty Girls Make Graves has always been an odd fit. After debuting on the long-lived punk label Lookout, the band seemed to skip ahead several evolutionary steps prior to releasing 2003's The New Romance, a sophomore album that let elements from various early-'80s revivals mutate into the group's DNA until a new, barely recognizable form emerged. Élan Vital continues that process, bringing in everything from dubby echo effects to accordions to Andrea Zollo's sometimes lush, sometimes abrasive, always passionate vocals.