The gift of making music when you're a kid is having a particular bite that others could only dream of. So the Orwells' vigor comes quite in handy when making loud, bombastic garage pop. These 17-year olds sound so bratty and rebellious that part of me thinks that the Orwells are slobbering at the mouth with rabies during the chorus of their nasty and catchy as all hell, “Mallrats (La La La).”
“Mallrats (La La La)” starts with someone preaching against rock n' roll and why it is “a contributing factor of our juvenile delinquency of today.” Of course The Orwells immediately tear every word of his to shreds with an unbelievably addictive “la la la” chorus. The song, from what I can understand of the tinny vocals, is about going to the mall, and seeing girls buying push-up bras with their moms. It's surprising satire of suburban culture that feels like the outsider teen's answer to the malaise of high school. It doesn't hurt that The Orwells know how to write a good song too, full of scrappy guitars, distorted bass and blown out drum fills.
Their record Remember When will be out on Autumn Tone on August 7.
