Vanity Press

Chugging, jangly Velvet Underground-style guitars roughen up the melodic chick vocals making this Victoria band’s take on pop pleasantly grittier than your average indie rock bubblegum pop. Only seven songs make up this disc so it all passes very quickly, but it’s enough to make a lasting impression. Crashing, tinny percussion and the Theremin-like synth lines creeping around in the back of "Science Fiction” give a bit of a retro, under-produced sound, while as raw as much of it is, they still pull out a good pop song with the bouncy and New Pornographers-esque "Love on the Upbeat.” A fun half hour or so without being too sickly sweet.