The time for the great summer records has arrived, and Meow Meow havecrafted one hell of a good time in their debut, though it may not seemlike it at first. One glance at the album artwork with exploding flowerhead, or at the tracklisting with titles like "The Killing Kind" and"Sick Fixation," may not reveal this; but both belie the music foundinside, even if they correctly reflect the lyrical content. Clearlythis band loves melodies and musical trickery — with burbling andstatic sounds surrounding the opening song on the album — and there's afirm country influence that's even more evident when the pedal steelcomes in. But all those pieces together do not ensure that the bandknows how to wield them and shape them into their bidding. Time andtime again on their debut, Meow Meow had me checking websites anddiscography sites asking "This is their debut?"Kirk Hellie and Christopher O'Brien are deft in their songwritingabilities, and their influences in '90s noise pop and '60s beach rockmay be obvious but they still manage to make some toes tap and somesmiles pour in with an originality all their own. These songs areinfused with sunshine and upbeat rhythms but still have some darkimagery poured all over them. There's laments about fucking it all upto open the record on "Cracked," then talk of killing off the cool kid,then talk of leaving people for dead, and on and on about depressingand deplorable subjects, while still maintaining enough of a party rocksound to forget about it all while listening. The noise continuesthroughout the record, with distorted guitar, static, and fuzz effectsdominating the mix on most every song. This is the most infectiousmusic I've heard this year, though, and despite the lyrics venturingfar into the morbid and disturbing, I was in a good mood from beginningto end.samples:
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