This is the fifth release from Californian quintet The Kimberly Trip, and it proves to be real treat. Inventive, clever and cliché free lyrics are the perfect accompaniment to the blend of punk-ish edged pop and rock.
The imaginatively titled “#1 With a Mullet (80’s Hair)” is less about the hair styles of the decade and more about fading teenage dreams and lost hopes – a touchingly told tale that is perfectly counterbalanced with bittersweet humour, and is as fine an example of fresh and sophisticated mid-tempo pop you could wish for. “Shy Girl From Orange County” is solidly in the punk camp, and one you could easily imagine Debbie Harry or Gwen Stefani wanting to get their vocal chords on. While “Flat Stanley” has a Kinks/Ray Davies air to it with shifts in tempo and melody when you least expect them.
“I Wanna Date Your Avatar” and “Your Creepy Ex” are a couple of sharply observed tracks about the ‘romantic liaisons’ of the times we live in –computer dating and stalking rather than love and marriage. And “Second To Fade” is a song that is beautiful, haunting and mesmerizing in equal measure, with vocalist Kimberlina demonstrating that she can handle gentle and subtle ballads with style when the occasion arises.
Not only is the music energetically and enthusiastically performed, they even sound like they’re actually enjoying themselves. It is the sort of music that is heartening to hear and makes you want more. And while on the outside they may border on pure geek, on the inside they are positively sub zero cool.
Available from CD Baby.