Album Review: Pale Lips - "After Dark"

 

Hailing from Montreal, Pale Lips are another band signed to the ultra-hip Rum Bar Records and their press release describes them as the missing link between the Ronettes and the Donnas which is certainly an intriguing prospect. Certainly opener Some Sort Of Rock 'n' Roll owes an equal debt to Nuggets style garage rock and the pop-punk of the Buzzcocks and the Undertones in equal measure. It's good but second song I'm A Witch is even better, a sheer slice of joie de vivre indebted from too many times watching The Craft.

Overall, the band Pale Lips remind me of the most is '80s all-girl garage rock revivalists the Pandoras and songs such as You're A Doll, Cosmic Love, Doo-Wop Showaddywaddy and The Kids certainly have the freewheeling sense of fun to make them an enjoyable listen. Elsewhere, the Johnny Leyton/Shangri-La's style That Old Ghost Don't Lie and the harmonica honking Dr Feelgood style All My Baby Brought Back Was The Blues provide a bit of variety where it's needed.

Hand on heart, if there's a complaint to be made here it's that Pale Lips don't really offer anything you won't have heard done before by other bands but aside from a couple of slightly anonymous numbers like Hanky Panky Franky and Johnny, it's to their credit that they're clearly versed enough with a good hook and chorus to ensure that there's no desire to switch this one off before it finishes. They may not quite be a premier league power pop outfit but they're certainly tantalisingly close and if they build on this album next time out then they should be well capable of getting there.

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NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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