Since early Stooges-worshiping, tape-only releases, Toronto, ON garage dudes and ladies Teenanger have been making some of the best sloppy, endearing, throwback rock'n'roll in a town full of sloppy, endearing, throwback rock'n'roll ― no small feat. With Give Me Pink, however, the band have managed to step into a sound they can comfortably call their own while still wearing their influences proudly on their jean jackets. "Alone On Acid" kicks things off with a high-power, minimal riff and a simple beat before the song starts spitting out heavily reverberated vocals with a full-force instrumental backing. It's apparent that a lot of thought has gone into getting each sound just right; from the straight-outta-1970 vocal treatment to the vintage guitar and bass tones, everything on Give Me Pink serves to perfect a mood and attitude that the band are able to build on with each of these 12 songs. From the New York Dolls-esque bluesy rock of "Red Hand Station" to the Tarantino soundtrack standout in waiting, "The Ballad of Robert McNamara," Teenanger have managed to pull together an exciting, vibrant collection of vintage garage rock that sounds as relevant today as it would have 40 years ago.
You guys have been pretty prolific in the short period of time you've been a band. How did you want this record to be different from what you've already released?
Guitarist G.C. Gary: We only actually recorded twice before this, even though this is technically our fourth release. The biggest difference is that we had so many more songs. We had seven songs for each of those early recording sessions and we were happy at the time that we did them, but we'd always realize after that we'd really rushed them. In the past, we'd be like, "Oh, these songs are really great, let's record them next week!" We didn't give the songs time to breathe, or play them live. A lot of songs went through a lot of revisions. We kept altering little things right up to recording.
Were you guys writing with a full-length in mind?
We weren't really. This record is probably over a year of songs. It's been a long time. We're not a punk band, per se, and none of our songs are really fast. So when you have 12 songs, you have the chance to say, "Let's throw in a four-minute, really slow, bluesy jam right here and a fast song here." You have the ability to dig into those things, unlike when you do four songs. And doing all different types of songs just makes you sound all over the place.
(Telephone Explosion)You guys have been pretty prolific in the short period of time you've been a band. How did you want this record to be different from what you've already released?
Guitarist G.C. Gary: We only actually recorded twice before this, even though this is technically our fourth release. The biggest difference is that we had so many more songs. We had seven songs for each of those early recording sessions and we were happy at the time that we did them, but we'd always realize after that we'd really rushed them. In the past, we'd be like, "Oh, these songs are really great, let's record them next week!" We didn't give the songs time to breathe, or play them live. A lot of songs went through a lot of revisions. We kept altering little things right up to recording.
Were you guys writing with a full-length in mind?
We weren't really. This record is probably over a year of songs. It's been a long time. We're not a punk band, per se, and none of our songs are really fast. So when you have 12 songs, you have the chance to say, "Let's throw in a four-minute, really slow, bluesy jam right here and a fast song here." You have the ability to dig into those things, unlike when you do four songs. And doing all different types of songs just makes you sound all over the place.