The Prettiots' debut album is a great start for the band and it doesn't follow the crowd.
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Up and coming Brooklyn indie-pop duo The Prettiots consists of lead vocalist and ukelele player Kay Kasparhauser and bassist Lulu Landolfi. They have now released their debut studio album Funs Cool, which showcases their cutesy chords and satirical lyrics. The band have previously released singles ‘Boys (That I Dated in High School)’, ‘Suicide Hotline’, ‘Stabler’ and ‘Anyways’, which have helped the band to gain their place on Billboard’s ’20 All-Female Bands You Need To Know.’ There are parallels that can be drawn between The Prettiots’ Kay Kasparhauser and Aussie singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett as both showcase their witty lyrics and wry delivery.
The album kicks off with ’18 Wheeler’, which sets the tone for the album with upbeat melodies and the deadpan delivery of Kasparhauser’s lyrics. ‘Boys (That I Dated in High School)’ soon follows as one of the band’s most prominent tracks through its humorous discussion of past relationships, such as “you said you were painter / mostly you were a waiter / a stoner and a skater / so I had to say later” and “we did it right before prom / I was scared to tell my mum / it wasn’t really the bomb / we did it right before prom.” ‘Home Yr Happy’ is up next. There is very much a Best Coast-esque feel to it through the alt-pop melodies and especially at times the vocals are reminiscent of Bethany Cosentino. ‘Move to LA’, ‘Skulls’ and ‘Anyways’ slow things down a bit, which adds a nice dimension to the album to show that the band are not only good at the upbeat, poppy tracks.
It is easy when you first hear The Prettiots to assume they are just like any other all-female indie-pop band, but their lyrics have a dark, witty edge to them that transports the band away from the crowd. Funs Cool is a short and snappy album that jumps from one song to the next in a way that is refreshing rather than rushed. Standout tracks include ‘Boys (That I Dated in High School)’, ‘Stabler’ and ‘Anyways’ all of which have been previously released, which is a bit of a shame as their new material doesn’t quite live up to those tracks. Nonetheless, as a debut album Funs Cool is not one that should be dismissed as it makes for both a pleasant and interesting listen that is worth 33 minutes of your time.
Funs Cool is out now via Rough Trade.
