Upset
‘76
Lauren Records
Laying on your bedroom floor, listening to cds that defined you, waiting for your life to begin… Weren’t we all like Angela Chase, misunderstood and frustrated, in high school? The women of Upset were and they wrote a beautiful little acoustic ballad about it called “Wonder.” The nostalgic song plays like a scrapbook, or a yearbook – a sweet look back at that moment when the houselights weren’t turned off on your childhood, when everything seemed both possible and immensely raw. The song is the closer to an 8 song EP that is otherwise sugar pop energy fun by a group of ladies whose collective resume includes Hole (Patty Schemel on drums!), Best Coast, Vivian Girls (Ali Koehler), Slutever (Rachel Gagliardi) and Benny The Jet Rodriguez (Lauren Freeman).
That’s a load of good bands, lots of talent, yet Upset sound like none of them. They tap into the 90’s alternative indie pop of girl fronted groups like Magnapop, or That Dog without sounding like they’re trying to, it’s just who they are. Like they got locked up in a closet in 1996 and someone just now unlocked the door. The songs are fun, the harmonies are adorable but confident, and even when they’re singing about a cartoon character (“Linus”) their lyrics are relatable and charming. I could just eat this band up with a big, pink spoon.
