The Pink Spiders - Teenage Graffiti

Wow! Just got this record on a lark – the cover is great – and this is wild stuff! The record is pretty varied, really, but has super songwriting and is mostly filled with fun, harmony-driven, pop-punk stuff.

Reminds me of a few bands, most notably the Briefs and American Heartbreak with hints of the Boys, but really original songwriting and huge production by Ric Ocasek, of all people!

The record opens with the gargantuan guitar sound of “Soft Smoke” which sets the pace for this album. “Modern Swinger” is the most Briefs-like, “Hollywood Fix” includes tasty harmony guitar licks, and then they slow down to mid-tempo for the single, “Little Razorblade”. This is a pretty basic pop tune – nice, enjoyable, a standard break-down in the middle, some simple riffs – good stuff, though I dunno if it’s my favorite from the record.

But, overall, the songwriting is what makes Teenage Graffiti a stand-out. Sure, there are references that you’ve heard before, but put together in an interesting and catchy way. Just when you think you have it pinned down, they’ll veer off on a tangent that I, for one, would never have thought of, but it totally works!

Towards the end of the CD they move into slower territory, like the power-ballad “Hey Jane”, which loses me along the way. “Adalae” is a mid-period, Kinks rip-off in the style of Village Green Preservation Society that also doesn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Thankfully, they pick up the pace again with the rockin’ “Easy Way Out” and then the official closer is “Pretend That This is Fiction”, which is more of a mix of Kinks-y pop with harder-rock. Not a bad song, but personally, I would have used a more powerful closer. There is a “secret track” that is a super-short piano ballad – sounds like something that would be used to close up a bar at the end of the night…

Some excellent stuff, a couple so-so songs, but definitely well worth getting! I will keep my eyes peeled to see if they’ll ever play in our area – bet they are a blast live!