Album Review: Cindy Lawson - "New Tricks"

 

If there's one thing about Rum Bar records, they're certainly experts at excavating local legends from the American north west and north east and, via the wonders of Bandcamp, exporting them to a worldwide audience. Cindy Lawson is another case - her teenage '80s band the Clams were apparently local pop-punk legends in their home state of Minnesota but never really got much further. However, a recent reissue program and the critical acclaim that followed has led to Cindy signing with Rum Bar to put out this new album.

I have to say, it's pretty enjoyable as well - opener How It Feels sounds like the Runaways if they'd managed to talk Ronnie Spector into taking on the lead singer's role after Cherie Currie left - a mix of purring vocals and spiky riffs which comes together to make something genuinely beguiling. However, this album has a definite nous to it which really makes it stand out from the wistful acoustics of The Girl through the almost Mariachi feel of The Devil's In The Detail to the spiky pop-punk of You've Got Quality and Let's Pretend. Elsewhere, Nope almost goes into shoegazing territory and I'm Loaded has a definite grunge influence in there.

New Tricks is a confident shot across the bows from Cindy with hardly a weak track on it and hopefully it'll serve as a good intro to her work for a whole new legion of fans. Certainly it's intrigued this writer and I might well be checking out some of those Clams reissues in the weeks ahead.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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