Girls' singer Christopher Owens says he's leaving the band The band Girls -- Chet "J.R." White, left, and Christopher Owens. True Panther Sounds / July 2, 2012 By August Brown July 2, 2012, 1:27 p.m. In his band Girls, singer-songwriter Christopher Owens wrote about fraught relationships and difficult co-dependencies. The San Francisco rock act's songs might have been more true-to-life than fans thought -- Owens announced Monday that he's leaving the group he co-founded. Owens announced the news in a statement posted on his personal Twitter account and on the website of his band's label, True Panther Sounds. 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, whose troubled childhood in the Children of God cult has been widely documented in reporting on the band, had previously admitted to an ongoing addiction to what he called "serious, very heavy opiates" that informed his songwriting but also made touring difficult. His partner in Girls, Chet "J.R." White, hasn't commented about any future for the band, which twice performed at the Coachella festival in Indio, Calif., and released two widely praised albums, including this year's "Father, Son, Holy Ghost." Coachella 2012: Girls win hearts Album Review: Girls' 'Father, Son, Holy Ghost' Coachella 2010: San Francisco's Girls dream, dream, dream the afternoon away