Fifteen

VINYL FORMAT. First press limited to 800 copies! "Following up last year's six-song 7-inch EP, we have the duo's debut album. Where the EP was merrily obscured by noise and DIY naiveté, Fifteen is both more garage and more pop. The songs are still around two minutes each, and Eddy Current guitarist Mikey Young is still 'producing,' but there's a newfound clarity: we can hear the voices of Amy Franz and Hayley McKee better, understand all the lyrics, and relish a firmer musical bedrock. That said, there's still an unfussed charm to the album, all carousing guitar riffs, knockabout drumming, and sweet harmonizing. Complete with voices cracking, the title track is an early highlight. 'Mess Around' proves darker and crunchier until it arrives at the suggestive refrain 'Let's mess around,' while 'Adrian' manages a simple but effective hook with the lyric 'When my heart beats like a TKO punch.' A bit Breeders-ish vocally, 'Love' has a rolling bass line and dirty guitar bleed, 'Enigma (You Say Go)' name-checks baby Jesus, and the bargain-keyboard-kicked 'Carolina' announces with defiance, 'I got nothing but bad advice.' Presumably a nod to TV's evergreen Degrassi High, 'Degrassi' is another scrappy ball of melody and noise, followed by a final fleeting pop missive in 'Stranger By The Day.' - Doug Wallen / TheVine.com.au