Colleen Green - I Want to Grow Up

Is growing up just a trivial bit of maths or all about maturing? That’s the – ahem - age-old question that pop-punk cool-girl Colleen Green attempts to tackle with a scrum of fuzz guitar riffs and distorted vocals on her third album. There is certainly some basic development in the sense that the Californian now has a full backing band, allowing for hooks meatier than a pirate devouring a rack of ribs. Take ‘TV’ – it’s not only got some seriously fat guitar riffs, but also makes use of the live drums not found on Green’s other material – or ‘Grind My Teeth’, with its Deap Vally level of fuck-off attitude.

Yet, in some ways, a reversal seems to have taken place. At least, with the first few tracks, they are far more similar to Green’s debut Ramones-inspired album than her second, which made more use of shoegaze guitars and retro synths. The lead single, for example, shakes with punk energy but lacks the subtlety of her other material. What seems to work best – in the fact that it stands out from other pop-punk solo artists – is the more hypnotic, vintage cuts. ‘Some People’ sounds like a beautiful marriage of Best Coast and Veronica Falls while still retaining the sardonic style of vocals that she favours, while ‘Whatever I Want’ steers in an exciting direction with its Cure style guitars, vibe and a return of the simple drum beats that suit her music best.

The most infectious track, however, is ‘Deeper Than Love’. Weighing in at an impressive six and a half minutes, it sticks out more on the record than a broken thumb; but in the best way possible. It straddles the hypnotic style of New Order and the nonchalant catchiness of the best of New Wave, creating a fantastically moreish track through a simple bassline riff, Romy xx style guitars and an absolute earworm of a chorus. Paradoxically, it’s the tracks that don’t centre on the growing up motif (unlike - say - ‘I Want To Grow Up’ or ‘Wild One’) that seem the most grown-up; and the ones that grow on you the most.