Release Date: December 4th, 2006
Label: RCA
If I were to tell you that the best new wave power rock record of the year belonged to a sixteen year old kid named Lil’ Chris, you probably wouldn’t believe me. But, it could very well be true. Lil’ Chris (born Chris Hardman, a veteran of Gene Simmons’ reality show Rock School) has created the only teenage pop/rock record worth listening to in a good long while.
If this was a different situation (if Chris didn’t look like he was 12 and sing like he was 10) we’d be in Franz Ferdinand territory… only better. Any new wave revivalist would be lucky to have tracks as brilliantly catchy as Gettin’ Enough and Is She Ready? in their catalog. In fact, the whole of the album is one giant hook propelled with enough youthful energy to nearly set it alight. Blistering cuts like first single Checkin’ It Out and Rock School-featured Is There Anybody Out There? retain their fuck-you attitude while still remaining catchy and accessible, while beautifully understated electro ballad I Never Noticed becomes a sort of modern Ben moment for Chris.
The record is short and punchy (much like the artist), which keeps things going at a perfect pace. Chris’s rock and roll posturing is continually fascinating and, while most likely annoying some, is the real reason the album works so well. It sounds like the work of a teenager. Most every song is about girls or sex or (in most cases) a combination of both. None of this, of course, would be anything special if the songs weren’t so great. Balking the usual teenage trend, Chris co-writes all his material and, judging from the results, he should. Lesson learned: the kids are alright, and I really should have dropped my preconceptions and checked this guy out sooner. A-
Key Tracks: Gettin’ Enough, I Never Noticed, Is She Ready?
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