Mint Chicks, The - Screens (Album)
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The hand-clapping, upbeat fun of The Mint Chicks’ new album Screens is a refreshingly original listen to which I give two thumbs up and a big cheer for happy tunes and very weird musicians of which there is certainly not enough these days. I don’t know what psychedelics these kids have dipped their tongues into, but I highly approve of the effect it’s had because this album is truly fantastic.
The Mint Chicks are a band with roots in New Zealand but are currently settled in the DIY capital of the world: Portland, Oregon. They have a very interesting sound; it is a little like a love child of bubblegum pop (or Warheads, more like: on first listen it’s an assault of noise coming at you from every which way, and the next you’re pulling shapes this way and that with a big silly grin across your face) and the Ramones-et-al inspired punk, after it has taken a lot of hallucinogenic substances and gone for a wander in a forest or joined the Merry Pranksters.
For all we know, this could be a really frightening or depressing album from a song writing perspective but the vocals are mostly distorted so we will hardly realise as we bop away, unable to keep still as the eleven tracks on Screens play.
But judging from the general vibe of the record, including the onslaught of melting colours and “what the fuck is going on there?” drawings on the cover, I think it’s safe to assume that these kids are just out to create some fun songs that capture everything the world has to offer then share it with audiences after it has been tainted by their own weirdness. What Devendra Banhart was a few years ago for the folk/New Weird crowd, The Mint Chicks do today for indie.
The new album, their third following 2006’s Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!, is far from dull. It is a fun record with a pleasantly unique approach to song making and a complete disregard of genre boundaries. If you like to listen to songs that don’t take themselves too seriously but are still of a high calibre, then get your hands on a copy of Screens.
