Anyone that's witnessed the blossoming talent of the Chicago teen sensations, The Smith Westerns over the past year can attest to the emerging excitement that came over us when the string of interesting side-projects kept turning up over the past six months or so. If you caught a glimpse of any of the wondrous short-lived blasts of originality in such secret "bands" such as Pseudonames and Xolotl, then you'll already know that this group of kids is bursting at the seams with songwriting creativity, and this week's BREAKING SOUNDS feature zooms in on the breakout smash 7" by Smith Westerns' guitarist Max McMillen, and his solo recording project, The Teenage Lovers. Released this month on the newly christened Randy Records (curated by members of The Yolks), Teenage Lovers is a fresh splash of real teen slime pop actually written and performed by an actual teenager in heat for once, and it's about time.
On this debut single, McMillen has crafted a new bedroom budget rock milestone right here in Chicago, and with the Teenage Lovers' impeccable knack for bagging that perfectly soiled pop warble a la Donny Denim, it's spearheading a bright new direction of homespun bubblegum ecstasy that's becoming impossible to resist. The 7" single cranks out two home run hits, "Number One" and "I Wanna Be Your Boy," that latch onto your pleasure receptors instantly, and the winning combination of raw hooks and dirgey tin-can production has a monumental effect, bringing grown men to their knees in jealousy and causing young ladies to longingly quiver in their bobby socks. The fact that both songs sound so casual and off-the-cuff only adds to the genuine greatness therein, and only portray a tiny offering of what's to come from this bright new songwriter that's soon to be turning heads all over the place. So if you're inclined to sniffing out the best underground pop music of today, don't wait and pick up this chest-pounding 7" right HERE, before the pressing of 500 runs out.
