The Prettiots “Funs Cool”

It’s not just the title of The Prettiot’s debut album that screams cool! They’re on Rough Trade and, hell, they even hail from New York City!!

The moment you hear opener “18 Wheeler” you know that you’re in for a treat. It’s a great little pop song which belies the somewhat darker lyrics. Together with songs like “Me And Little Andy”, they have the same kind of lyrical delivery and laid back cool of Courtney Barnett.

The ‘pop’ fun gets even better with “Boys (That I Dated In Highschool)” which is a great, coming of age song. A theme that continues with “Hope Yr Happy”. Many of the tracks have the feel of being a soundtrack for a youthful audience. However, whilst that may be the target audience, it doesn’t preclude us oldies from loving it as well!! Indeed, it’s impossible not to enjoy the infectious indie pop of songs like “Dreamboy” and “Kiss Me Kinski”.

There is also a ‘hidden’ depth to many of the songs, which makes them far more interesting than other, more twee, indie pop songs. This is clear on the brilliant “Suicide Hotline”. That song combines downbeat lyrics with an upbeat melody in a way that Jenny Lewis does so masterfully. “Stabler” opens up with handclaps (a simple trick, but one we’re a sucker for!) before becoming another song delivering dark lyrics with a ‘sunshine’ feel.

The title to this album, “Funs Cool” is pretty apt, as the songs on this album are indeed both fun and cool. It’s a smart, indie pop album. Many of the songs have a bitter sweet feel. It’s achieved by marrying melodic indie songs with quirky and deceptively dark lyrics. It’s all delivered with a genuine sense of laid back cool. It doesn’t sound forced or engineered which makes for a really great album.