Teen Men-Teen Men

I like Teen Men. There, I said it. The first time I became aware of these guys was Electric Owl in Vancouver. They were supporting Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and to be honest, they were ten times better than the headliners. They had a quirky Vampire Weekend feel to them, with every song being one you found more impressive than the last. So I guess their sound is indie/alt pop/rock. Simples.

I was captivated throughout that entire set and knew I had to get the album. Unfortunately they weren’t selling it at the show so I had to order it online. And it was worth the wait. A perfect indie/alt pop/rock album, every track wants to get you moving. Catchy guitar riffs and lyrics about being an adult kid, remembering how it all was. They’ve all the right ingredients here, short catchy songs, soft voiced lead singer with some solid backing vocals. The track names themselves give away a sense that Teen Men were trying to throw themselves back to their youth, with track names such as ‘Adventure Kids‘, ‘It’s All Rushing Back‘ and ‘Kids Being Kids.

It’s probably easier to describe the album as a whole rather than track by track. I listen to it on a regular basis because its not complicated, kind of in the way you just want to watch a comedy rather than a drama because you want to relax. From the first track ‘Hiding Records’ to ‘Kids Being Kids’, the youthful theme is present throughout. Lead singer Nick Krill sings ‘It seems we find ourselves in love with our own youth’in ‘The Sea, The Sea’, and this line describes the album well in general. ‘Its All Rushing Back’ and ‘Rene’ are two other excellent tracks. Its comfortable listening, an album you can play right through. As I’ve said in previous reviews, the songs sound somewhat similar, but not in a bad way. This is because they tick all the boxes you want from a pop album, which makes the anticipation for the next track even greater than the last. The standout track for me is ‘New Kind’ so have a listen to that too.

The album is definitely worth picking up if you come across it because I don’t have too many other albums as refreshing and fun as this.

G.M