"From Boise, Idaho, come garage poppin’, surf rockin’ TEENS. But if this is garage-pop, it’s a little dirtier, a lot more lo-fi; if this is surf-rock, it’s about as close to surf rock as Beat Happening ever got, which is to say, I’m glad they went in another direction.
Though they list their direct influences as the 13th Floor Elevators, The Animals, The Byrds and The Zombies, I was grateful that the sound doesn’t immediately give it away. TEENS have a real Eighties ethos about them, from the actual sound fighting its influences, to the the DIY way they released the record and the urge to play music in order to, according to guitarist Dave Wood, “let our hair down and get away from our day to day lives [sic]“. The Vaselines come immediately to mind (“Die With You”), as does, in an odd pairing, the fun raucousness of Wavves (“O’Lay”). I was surprised they had no female members, as the droney, clashing vocals of bassist Gabriel Rudow and guitarists Wood and Christopher Kolody are what reminded me of the Vaselines and even a bit of the Raveonettes in the first place (“I Won’t Waste My Time”, “In Tongue”).
According to their cool non-label label Barn Owl Records, the album was recorded in only a few days with two mics in a Cold War era bomb shelter outside of their hometown of Boise. The “severely cramped confines, archaic tracking devices, and a ‘first-take-is usually-the-best-take’ approach, all combine to give the album an effervescent charm that would be unrealized in more posh circumstances.” But the boys sound pretty put together, if you ask me. There is a loose relaxed-ness to their form that is hard to associate with the amateur-hour story that’s told, a rawness that was still prevalent in the albums after Beat Happening started practicing more and actually knew how to use their instruments as, well… instruments and less as props. A lot of groups today try hard to cultivate this ultra-lo-fi, in-the-garage sound, but I think it rolls out in sweat off these guys.
TEENS does plan on recording a new album this coming fall/winter, the band site stating that they’re looking to ”expand their sound—moving beyond the three-chord realm into spacier textures”–and that’s cool. There are moments in “White Devils” and “Lights” where I see it and believe it and kind of want it. The band is capable of crossing over from their bedrooms, local bomb-shelters or what have you. They have something not unlike Yuck of being able to play it rough and loose, yet also weave a thread of something more thoughtful, swooning melodies. I just hope they can find a nice middle ground between the two and not jump between sounds.
Their self-titled debut is out now via Barn Owl Records. It’s a little nine song juggernaut by three guys who do less fuzzing around and something more akin to playing their instruments. Check out the songs below, listen to the entire album courtesy of Barn Owl, or just buy it because what can you get that’s quality for 3 bucks these days?" (Heard: listenbeforeyoubuy.net)
Though they list their direct influences as the 13th Floor Elevators, The Animals, The Byrds and The Zombies, I was grateful that the sound doesn’t immediately give it away. TEENS have a real Eighties ethos about them, from the actual sound fighting its influences, to the the DIY way they released the record and the urge to play music in order to, according to guitarist Dave Wood, “let our hair down and get away from our day to day lives [sic]“. The Vaselines come immediately to mind (“Die With You”), as does, in an odd pairing, the fun raucousness of Wavves (“O’Lay”). I was surprised they had no female members, as the droney, clashing vocals of bassist Gabriel Rudow and guitarists Wood and Christopher Kolody are what reminded me of the Vaselines and even a bit of the Raveonettes in the first place (“I Won’t Waste My Time”, “In Tongue”).
According to their cool non-label label Barn Owl Records, the album was recorded in only a few days with two mics in a Cold War era bomb shelter outside of their hometown of Boise. The “severely cramped confines, archaic tracking devices, and a ‘first-take-is usually-the-best-take’ approach, all combine to give the album an effervescent charm that would be unrealized in more posh circumstances.” But the boys sound pretty put together, if you ask me. There is a loose relaxed-ness to their form that is hard to associate with the amateur-hour story that’s told, a rawness that was still prevalent in the albums after Beat Happening started practicing more and actually knew how to use their instruments as, well… instruments and less as props. A lot of groups today try hard to cultivate this ultra-lo-fi, in-the-garage sound, but I think it rolls out in sweat off these guys.
TEENS does plan on recording a new album this coming fall/winter, the band site stating that they’re looking to ”expand their sound—moving beyond the three-chord realm into spacier textures”–and that’s cool. There are moments in “White Devils” and “Lights” where I see it and believe it and kind of want it. The band is capable of crossing over from their bedrooms, local bomb-shelters or what have you. They have something not unlike Yuck of being able to play it rough and loose, yet also weave a thread of something more thoughtful, swooning melodies. I just hope they can find a nice middle ground between the two and not jump between sounds.
Their self-titled debut is out now via Barn Owl Records. It’s a little nine song juggernaut by three guys who do less fuzzing around and something more akin to playing their instruments. Check out the songs below, listen to the entire album courtesy of Barn Owl, or just buy it because what can you get that’s quality for 3 bucks these days?" (Heard: listenbeforeyoubuy.net)
TEENS – “O’Lay”-Mp3
