Colleen Green

Colleen Green explores simple, sunny pop music with her latest LP, and first for Hardly Art, Sock It To Me. While Green's previous work had a punk influence (her previous release, Milo Goes to Compton, is a play on the title of the first Descendents album), her latest is grounded in pure pop. Sock It To Me consists entirely of power- and four-chord progressions, with relentless drum machine rhythms. Green's harder edge and presence as a musician can be heard lyrically, although her soft vocals fall flat, shrouded by a sea of synthesized blips and bleeps from the ubiquitous drum sounds. This tactic works with similar artists (Best Coast and Vivian Girls come to mind), but Green doesn't provide enough garage rock shtick or vocal prominence to give it credibility. In this sense, Sock It To Me comes off as haphazard. The Ramones are a big influence, helping to instil a punk spirit, particularly in the chord structures and sing-along melodies. As well, "Number One" takes a page from the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," with the same catchy hook and melody. Sweet and simple, Green's laidback, marijuana-laden demeanour sets the tone for the album: an ode to a lazy summer's day.