On
Preludes
,
I Was Totally Destroying It
certainly try to live up to their name in some shape or form: singing "Me against the world" and relying on a big, chunky rock riff for the opening song certainly shows they're not ones to shy away from anthems.
John Booker
isn't cut out for rough-voiced rabble rousing as much as cleaner (if sometimes strained) vocals, while
Rachel Hirsh
's own lead vocals have a similar feeling emotionally, but are just that much stronger in impact on the technical level to provide an often compelling balance. There's also a funny sense of how much the music sounds like it could have been U.K. indie just pre-
Nirvana
; it's cheery but still a bit clean, mixed with the continuing impact of new wave hyperactivity as translated by the 21st century. (Something about the keyboards and guitars suggests late-'80s
Cure
.) Big choruses and a sense that they really mean it crop up constantly, and it's all very passionate in its own way. Demi-ballads like
"All Get Lucky"
and
"Fight/Flight"
provide a contrast to the full-on brawlers like
"Twenty-Thousand,"
the album's strongest track. There's something that feels just a little off about the album regardless -- perhaps the way things sound pitched toward the high end in the mix -- and there's a sense that
feels more like a coda than a start. Then again, the band seems not to want it any other way. ~ Ned Raggett