#benmorgan

Right off the bat something about this band is going to sound familiar. Gilbride's vocals have a passing sneer that resembles Mac McCaughan from Superchunk. Crutchfield sounds like Jenny Lewis if she were always just a little more pissed off than normal. The band itself even sounds dragged straight out of the 90's. The guitars wail and screech behind distortion that now sounds almost classic since bands like Pavement built and burst the indie rock guitar sound wide open. But, all of the familiarity only amounts to comfort. It pulls you in far enough, mixes up the signals just right, and finds a new patch of sound in already trod ground.

Over the course of 12 tracks the band manages a bounce between vocalists and tones. One moment they are care free and another they are angry. Then they are even angrier. Then some introspection hits. It's a record full of all of the lack of intricacy that youth brings. Crutchfield's songs tend to hit a little harder thanks to her stunning vocals paired with a delivery reminiscent of a girlfriend who's about to beat you up and walk out. "Kenosha" the best telling off song of 2012 outshines almost everything on the album with a killer, sticky chorus and a real sense of power and congealed idea of the band's 90s indie rock meets 00s indie pop rock. Crutchfield and her band glimmer when they need to and dig for blood when they can't hold back anymore. Gilbride's song walk less of this line, very consistently sounding out in line with the 90s slacker hero anthem category. Both vocalists bring enough of their own flair to power the band. The fact that they're working together only makes it even better. Only one song here even passes the 3 minute mark, so it's hard to be bored at any point in the less than half hour run time. Hooks hit like they've been heated and there's a heavy sense of hangout and summer times present on this record. "The bluer the water the closer to hell/sandy rock-bottom, seedy motel" Crutchfield delivers with a definitive snarl in "Hundreds & Thousands".

There's a bounce between controlled volume and rage and uncontrolled tonal assault, mostly present in the album's last half, that reads as a little inconsistent. As if the band is thrashing about a bit to nail down a sound. I'll admit it staves off some boredom and keeps things interesting, but it might not be the most original or thoughtful way to move the band's sound forward. I'll be interested to see how they progress, whether they engage the noise and tame it or just drop it all together. What you end up with is a stunningly capable pop punk band who've managed to make old sounds new again. The trick here is picking all of that up and moving forward. I have little doubt that a band with this much bright, fun energy to give off will have any problems.

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For Fans of: King Tuff, Superchunk, Rilo Kiley