Teenage Kicks

Those of you who know me, know that I have a slight case of arrested development. I am adding this new topic to my lucky tiger belt because I have been a little dry and this thing has been way neglected lately. So, the first instalment of Teenage Kicks will be about Paramore. I recently had a chance to check these guys out on the Vancouver leg of the Vans Warped Tour and they were great.

The music is pop with a rock edge and their vocalist is a pint sized wonder called Hayley Williams. I think they may even be Christian which I’m letting slide. Hayley is like a new Pat Benatar and she can sing. Think Avril Lavigne minus that whole Motherfucking Princess thing meets any pop/punk band around. I hope we don’t see Ms. Williams with a push up bra and blonde hair being a real pop star in a few years because while she has the talent to make it, its way more fun to see her be part of a band and not do the typical hot girl thing. The girl is fresh faced and hot, but not in any kind of overt sexual way.

Their first album, All We Know is Falling was in pretty much constant rotation from last Summer through to the beginning of this year and I really enjoyed it. Their new one, Riot! was released recently and it is better than the first one in many ways. The band have discovered that part of great pop is a great chorus and while those were mostly missing from the first album, the new one is filled with them.

The first single, Misery Business, explores the same themes as Girlfriend by Lavigne but does it in a less annoying by leaving behind the Toni Basil-esque sing-song chorus and by just rocking out. And when these guys play live, they totally go for it and it was great to see not just the young girls but some of the guys totally rocking out at the show. This is the official video of the song and here’s an acoustic version they did at some radio thing. Also this is them, again, doing the song live.

What I also love about these guys, is that they are so young that when they are exploring concepts and topics that seem juvenile, it is totally OK because they’re all under 21. Music for kids made by kids somehow seems less calculated and manipulated than when it’s someone my age climbing the charts and for Teenage Kicks you can’t do better than Paramore.