Tag: Tall Teenagers
Tall Teenagers at The Met
with The Viennagram, Eric & the Nothing and Young Lincoln
The Met
Main St
Pawtucket, RI
$8
All Ages
8pm
Tall Teenagers and Outlaw in Peru Reviews in the Latest Motif Magazine
Outlaw In Peru – OIP
This record has been kicking around for awhile but I popped it into my CD player the other day and it floored me. I don’t know when — or if — this band will ever play again, but that is part of the fun. They dress up in masks (because they are the Outlaw In Peru) and kick off a 10-minute stomper with fake crowd noise with “straight outta Little Compton…” where they name every town in Rhode Island except maybe Portsmouth and Arctic in “OIP Worldwide” with complete stadium bombast. They even make the point to let you know they are skipping Barrington because let’s face it, outside of that teddy bear store, it’s as gentrified as fuck. Outlaw In Peru understands that. It’s not all anthems for stadiums that don’t exist as “Profile in the Rock” rocks to some nirvana halfway between Motorhead and Thin Lizzy. “I Killed the Kennedys” rocks hard in a Grand Funk Railroad on amphetamines meets Body Count vein while offering up as much truth as the Warren Commission. You don’t have to wait for their next rodeo to hear them play. You can just go to 75orlessrecords.com to order and be the proud owner of this biscuit.
Tall Teenagers – Self-Titled
T-Rock used to always try to get me to listen to this late ’90s alt-rock band Verbena. They sounded like Surfa Rosa-era Pixies with songs that were just not as good. Surfa Rosa is in my top 50 all time records, so there is no shame when I liken Tall Teenagers to that record. I’ve never spent the time to appreciate Verbena till I saw Tall Teenagers and it struck me what they reminded me of. It is the same shtick with fuzzy loud guitars, mixed gender vocals and short twisty tunes. What I like about the Tall Teenagers is, for starters, it sounds phenomenal. Raw guitars whether they be foreboding on “Gone Gone Gone” or just driving through the morning madness of a new day rising on “I Get Awake.” “Thief In The House” jams along sounding like some mix of Crazy Horse Neil Young digging deep into a mix of grunge and gospel with no Gods in sight. “Home” has some surf licks and a driving back beat to carry you to safe harbor. The tension build-up in “Walking On A Street” just engages one to find out what is around the next corner. Speaking of corners, from their first show till I eventually saw them, people have raved about Tall Teenagers live. Being a fan of grungy guitars and short songs, I concur. That time I asked for my money back based on them not being particularly tall or close to being teenagers was strictly an aberration, possibly from inebriation.
Tall Teenagers live at WBRU video for ‘Visible Anger’
Tall Teenagers at The Columbus Theatre
with Smith & Weeden and Pixels
Columbus Theatre
270 Broadway
Providence, RI
9pm
Tall Teenagers Debut Album reviewed by Vanyaland
Album Premiere: Tall Teenagers rise above the mundane on provocative guitar-rock debut
By possessing a sound that’s reminiscent of Nick Cave’s gothic tones, old school electric surf rock, and the post-punk charisma of The Raveonettes, Tall Teenagers have gained a local buzz in a relatively short time. The act consists of a couple Providence music scene vets, featuring former Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons members Damian Puerini and Shaun Chevalier on lead guitar and drums, respectively. The lineup rounds out with Puerini’s wife, Shannon, on bass, and Chelsea Paulhus on rhythm guitar. There’s a uniquely haunting aesthetic to the band’s style that sends chills up the spine. Get down with the darkness as Tall Teenagers premiere their self-titled debut album on Vanyaland today.
Believe it or not, Tall Teenagers originally started out as an innocent music project between Puerini and Paulhus that was eventually deemed to be a tad provocative.
“Chelsea and I wanted to write children’s songs to make money and then we realized our songs were really inappropriate — true story,” says Damian Puerini.
With dark lyrics accompanying each track, it’s fairly certain that Tall Teenagers’ music wouldn’t go well with the child demographic. It might scare them a bit and leave parents a tad confused. That’s a good thing though, let the kids stay home while the adults dive into an interesting take on rock and roll.
The surfy twang that starts off “Feel Us Out” sets the mood for the song, the chorus is where the energy comes through and invades the listener’s inhibitions. On “Anniversary”, Chevalier’s drumming is evidently present as the reinforcing base of the track with Puerini and Paulhus’ guitars serving as the source of invigoration. “I Get Awake” is an absolute ripper, an unapologetic punk structure anchors this electrifying track to exude a dancing feeling. Paulhus’ backing vocals on the song gives it an eerie inflection as well.
Tall Teenagers will be celebrating the release of their self-titled debut at the Columbus Theatre Saturday night (April 16) with alt-rock art enthusiasts Pixels and rabble rousing rock and rollers Smith & Weeden. Do the ears a favor and pick up a copy of the album at the show but for a taste of what to expect stream the album via the band’s Soundcloud below: