Girls' Christopher Owens Quits The Band

Girls' singer and songwriter Christopher Owens has never been secretive about his ongoing personal travails with drugs and relationships (and let's not forget his childhood in a cult), but fans were taken aback when the musician quit his own band via Twitter on Monday.

Despite critical acclaim for the San Francisco band's two albums, most recently 2011's Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Owens walked away from his group, saying in a statement on Twitter and True Panther's website:"This may come as a surprise to many & has been an issue of much thought for me. My decision was not easy to make. I am leaving Girls. My reasons at this time are personal. I need to do this in order to progress. I will continue to write & record music. More will be announced soon. I thank you all for everything."

Owens had discussed his addiction to opiates in the past, but in recent days had mostly tweeted about more mundane observations about Woody Allen films and Spain's win in the Euro Cup finals.

Owens' Girls bandmate, bassist Chet "J.R." White, hasn't released a comment about the future — if any — of Girls. 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJVN3QoGMe0]