2015 has not even started yet and here I am listening to a band I’ve never heard of before thinking to myself how deserving they are to drop on my best of 2015 list.
I know, I know, maybe I need to chill out a bit. In all honesty though, I am dead serious about how much I enjoyed this act.
What would happen if you took Brodie Dalle (Distillers) and asked her to join the White Stripes with the soul purpose of mimicking 90s Sub Pop acts prior to the turn of the century?
I speak not of the color, but of the boy-girl-boy Texas trio that literally has caught me off guard in a good good way. They call their sound party rock and I could not agree more.
In January, Purple drops their debut (409) on Pias Recordings. It is tough for me to even think that this is their first album given how well put together it sounds.
“Wallflower” started things off with a Detroit rock sound. It was tough to gauge this band until about the halfway mark and suddenly I was loving what I heard.
“Leche Loco” carried an amazing similarity to 90s acts like Dinosaur Jr. and Bikini Kill as well as even good ol’ Jane’s Addiction.
“Beach Buddy” was a catchy track that was like a morph between Used Kids, The Strokes, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. This fun beach jam was amazing. I loved the back and forth singing between Hanna Brewer and Taylor Busby only for them to join together.
“Thirteen” was like Joan Jett met a hardcore version of The Faint. Damn, this song was nuts. I loved it. The quick breakdowns and the heavy guitars with distorted vocal notes. The video for it was even more insane.
“Target” had Brewer singing like a young Gwen Stefani and Juliana Hatfield but not without adding her own force in. “Head On The Floor” continued with I am hoping the next song to be plastered all over the radio. This track reeked of 90s alt-rock and was extremely enjoyable thanks to that Weezer bass riff.
With more of a blues rock feel, “Newborn” slowed things down a bit. I felt this track proved how much talent this band holds. Dan Auerbach, maybe you need to hit these kids up over Danger Mouse next time. Seriously though, this tune was impressive.
“I like to party and ear a bikini” started off the final song “DMT”, a gritty punk jam that was heavy on the distortion and reverb. Not sure how this will come off but, it is so nice to hear new music take queue from classic punk and alt-rock sounds from my younger years.
This album was full of wholesome pop-garage-punk-rock goodness with some psychedelic flavor and even a little riot grrl-ish making for a truly refreshing listen. If anything though, most of all, it was freaking fun.
This band is going places. I know it.
The best part about this release? It drops on my birthday.