The Pop Corporation

Too often, when a musician in the current period of music takes on something that’s akin to ’90s indie rock or grunge, they forget one crucial thing – the melody. If you look at The Breeders and the songs of Kurt Cobain, a love of tunes and hooks is evident, so when someone disaffectedly hides behind their guitars talking about their fucking feelings again, you can find yourself aching for a chorus amongst the wall of sound distortion pedals.

Thank god that’s not the case with Pouty (Rachel Gagliardi to her pals) and the first proper solo LP (we think) ‘Forgot About Me’.

Graduating from the marvellously named Slutever, Gagliardi has struck out on their own, remembering to bring any bile and aggression left over from her old group, and invariable brought on by the state of… well… just have a look around you and there’s plenty to tap into.

The LP kicks off with the marvellous ‘Salty’, which flits from a swoonsome Japanese Breakfast-ish indie, before stomping on the pedals for a neat, modern version of quiet/loud music. ‘TV on TV’ puts the amp tubes into further overdrive, making a glorious racket, that somehow, manages to retain a certain sweetness, invariably a result of Gagliardi’s reedy voice.

The sweetness in her voice adds a lovely element when she’s singing things like “from where I stand there’s not a single thing to lose except this rotten attitude.”

The whole LP tears along, but maintaining a bubbling chaos that makes the whole thing fizz. If you’re some Gen Xer, it’ll make you feel 18 again. If you’re literally 18, we’ll watch you disappear toward the barrier and hope you get home okay, which she sings “the way you look makes me feel sick because I realise I’m getting older too.”

On ‘Big Stage’, you’re met with a monster of a riff that absolutely rips and sounds like getting dowsed in cheap booze and ruining your new shoes, sounding like a love letter to being in a band itself. She sings “I wanna play on the big stage! Craving the crowds to know my name!” and it’s got a self awareness and cocksure attitude that allows you to dive right into it too.

If you miss the DIY pop of, say, Best Coast, or wish there was someone making songs as fun as Veruca Salt’s ‘Seether’, then this Pouty LP should be on your list.

It’s got a lovely gloss to the whole thing, but it’s still daft enough to make you want to dive into traffic too. It’s noisy, but harking back to classic ’60s girl group tropes of the trouble with youth, infatuation, confidence, blubbing your eyes out in public, and loads of sweet to accompany the bitterness. It’s a real fun time.

And while it’d be perhaps easy to dismiss the whole thing as some arrested development pish, it really doesn’t land that way. It’s a celebration of power pop, of life, of the horrors, of doodling on a notepad, of alternative rock and skuzz.

When she asks you “what if you stopped standing in your own way?” you just have to give into it. This is a super little album and you’d be advised to inject a bit of fun into your ears.

It may feel home hewn, but it’s a massive slab of indie pop. It’s charming noisenik music for people who should want to ditch a bit of that pointless cynicism they’ve let build up over the years. Magic!

Get your copy on pink vinyl here or ask at your local indie store.