Bentcousin are a brother-sister (twins actually) duo Pat and Amelia who seem way to young to remember St. Etienne, Orange Juice and Kirsty MacColl but ably bring all three to mind on their self-titled debut LP. Their songs are full of spunk, spite and wayward coolness. The siblings seem like they were born to be pop stars. They write smart pop songs that swagger and swoon.
Their cover of Dinosaur Jr‘s Freak Scene is so original it barely sounds like a cover. In fact I bet if you heard it somewhere not knowing it was a cover you’d be hard pressed to recognize it. Elsewhere on the record Baby You’re My Jesus sounds like Vic Goddard getting together with the Shangri-Las recording at Edwin Collins‘ place. Rock & Roll Me wants to be Donna Summer baking a cake and leaving it out in the rain. Another highlight Uncertain has the tenderness and bravado of a Kirsty MacColl song and a great line about the Slits and the Go-Go’s.
For some this record might seem like it’s all over the place, but for any lover of pop music it will quickly endear itself. It happened to me and it’s now one of my favorite records of the year.
Bentcousin’s album is out on Team Love Records.
the finest kiss 