Minneapolis five-piece The Shakin’ Babies’ debut release, Stoked Casual sounds like you’re fast-forwarding through Grease: getting gooey-eyed on summer nights, mooning to “Blue Moon,” getting a hickey from Kenickie, and cruisin’ for a bruisin’ in your black leather baby’s hot rod. It’s the perfect mesh of Danny-meets Sandy — cute with just a touch of tough – and made for the summertime.
Singer Jess “Out for Blood” Oleson (yup, they have badass nicknames too) has a set of pipes on her that blast through sassy pop with less sugar and more full-throttle throat power. In songs like “Wait a Minute,” she adds a bit of punk swagger in as her voice stretches and lips curl. “Dreams of You” is all doo-wops, wah-oos, ooo-ooos, and sax solos, bouncing along at a brisk bop that makes the socks hop, while “Katrina” jams more sunshine-blasted garage-pop, singing about a sassy/sweet girl whose personality could mirror The Shakin’ Babies sound.
Stoked Casual is available now on cassette or CD and as a digital download for from MJ MJ Records.
