Band? Solo Venture? Melodic Jigsaw Puzzle? Is Girls Say Yes an actual band? Sort of. Is it a free-floating, high caliber artistic collective? Sure. Is it the bold brainchild of drummer/songwriter/singer/engineer Jim Huie? Definitely.It"s closest relative would be Anton Fier’s Golden Palominos—a revolving door of superlative guest artists each applying a special coat of colorful paint to an impressive musical structure being built from the ground up. Speaking of guest stars, Huie’s band of gunslingers include the likes of Mitch Easter (Let’s Active, REM producer), Russ Tolman and Richard McGrath (True West), Bobby Sutliff (The Windbreakers), Steve Almaas (Comsat Angels, Beat Rodeo), Adam Marsland (Cockeyed Ghost), Jeff Hatcher (Blue Shadows) and Ben Drucker (Swirlees).As for the man himself, Jim Huie has made his bones with Russ Tolman’s band, touring Europe as well as playing on Tolman’s albums City Lights and New Quadraphonic Highway. Huie has also drummed with The Windbreakers. The album itself is a testament to Huie’s perseverance and exacting artistic nature. Recorded over the span of several years at many different studios (four in Portland, Oregon alone, not to mention New York, San Francisco, Vancouver B.C. and Kernersville, South Carolina) the album was mastered in Portland by Tony Lash (Eric Matthews, Elliott Smith, Sunset Valley) and was largely mixed by American Music Club veteran Tom Mallon with some assistance from Mitch Easter in North Carolina. Enough résumé material! What about the darned music? Have no fear, intrepid seeker of hooks, melodies and insanely catchy choruses; it’s all here. Turning back a few pages to the glory days of what was once known as "college" radio, Huie effortlessly fuses graceful guitar jangles, supple organ tickles, sassy female harmonies and dead-on love/loss lyrics into a rock solid whole that belies the fragmented nature of the overall project.