Here's a fine little Toronto duo (with a friend playing bass) that straddles many fresh styles simultaneously. The main riff of "Get Outside" is an arresting chord pattern that's a ghost of "Crocodiles" by Echo & the Bunnymen (with a hint of Teardrop Explodes), while the chorus of "Limelight" and elsewhere heavily echo Gala-era Lush. Overall, Chicklet sounds like if Lush, if Lush were an early-'80s L.A. paisley underground band, minus the total '60s obsession. For one thing, Julie Park's voice nods strongly to Hatfield, Hoffs, and Carlisle, only with the lower, more husky, less squeaky tone like Lush's heavenly Anderson and Berenyi. And like the earliest days of Hoffs' Bangles, when they were the grittier Bangs, the ringing guitars and Byrds/Ride/Teenage Fan Club-ian chords of "Kyopo" make them contenders in the scruffy, edgy indie pop sphere. Highly likable.
© Jack Rabid /TiVo