The Innocents - Teardrop Kiss

Aussie powerpop legends back with a new LP!

We love a bit of powerpop round our house so it's not surprising that this new album from The Innocents has had some heavy rotation on our stereo of late. The band have been Tasmania's leading exponents of the genre for some 40 years, and their talent showing no signs of diminishing.

Originally formed as Beathoven in 1975, the band soon changed their name to The Innocents and released a string of powerpop gems that chimed with skinny tie era. The revitalised band gained a new lease of life in the early noughties when a compilation, The No Hit Wonders From Down Under (2002) quickly sold out of its limited run. Their new album Teardrop Kiss has all the hallmarks of their best work – punchy, melodic songs that straddle the emotional line between happy and sad, lyrics that somehow manage to be both specific and universal, all backed with guitar crunch, uptempo beats, three-part harmonies and iced with enough variety and flourishes to make listening in one sitting such a pleasurable breeze.

The old adage about not judging a book by its cover doesn't apply in this case. The album's cover is reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein's comic book style art - eye-catching, bright, immediate, seemingly simple yet with true depth. All qualities shared by the music.

Another reason for The Innocents' new lease of life came via their inclusion on the bills at David Bash's small but perfectly formed International Pop Overthrow festivals. For those unfamiliar with the IPOs, they take place yearly at various (mainly US) cities with a strong musical heritage, as well as ventures over to Europe recently even such unlikely places as Tel Aviv. I've been to a couple of these when they've taken place at Liverpool's Cavern Club. If you can make it along to any I highly recommend you do. Even more so if The Innocents are playing. And if you can't get along to one, do try and track down this CD

The Innocents are -

Rob Smith – Vocals / Guitar

Greg Cracknall – Vocals / Bass

Charles Touber – Vocals / Rhythm Guitar

Click here for The Innocents' website.

Click here for The Innocents on Facebook.