CD: Smoosh, "She Like Electric"

My brother recently introduced me to The Believer, which is rapidly gaining on The Economist as the magazine that I most wish I could afford a subscription to. Nick Hornby's column on his reading exploits alone would be worth the price, but for now I am sadly left perusing their website for whatever free morsels they leave for financially-challenged folks like myself. Last month they published their annual Music Issue, which was even more of a tease. My eye was immediately drawn to an excellent interview by Steve Almond (here) with two young girls, Asya and Chloe, who are the sole members of a band called Smoosh. I was so intrigued by the concept of a band whose combined age makes me seem like an old bastard, let alone one that opens for Pearl Jam and Sleater-Kinney, that I found myself buying their album from their label's website within 10 minutes, without ever hearing a single note.

The CD arrived in the mail the day before I purchased the latest White Stripes masterpiece, and I was so enthralled by these young girls that it took 5 days before I even bothered to give Jack White's disc a listen. You can read my short review of the CD at 75 Or Less (eventually; it will be up before anyone starts reading this site), but suffice it to say I remain as mesmerized as I was when I wrote that. I can't listen to these songs without remembering my time as the lead singer of a local band in high school. It was the most fun experience of my entire life. Even at 17, the first party we ever played was a complete eye-opener for me. The whole rock-star fantasy was instantly demystified, and if I was a big music nerd before then... wow. I became insufferable after that day. I can't even imagine the feeling of producing a collection of songs of this quality at the age of 11 or 13. Good for them. If they continue to have this much fun with music, we are in for some real treats with their future releases.