The Muscadettes – Side B

Livin’ The Canadian Dream

The pair of beautiful, blonde Canadian twin sisters that front The Muscadettes released the Side A EP to this month’s Side B back in April of this year. Fresh-faced and clearly enamored with the golden age of girl groups (as indicated by the “-adettes” suffix), The Muscadettes mix the “wah-oohs” of The Supremes and The Shangri-Las with alternative, surf and garage rock influences on the second half of their recording debut.

“Earthquake” and “My Baby Boy” assume the classic form of straight-up girl pop (claps and all), updated with 80’s synths, played by white girls and anchored by slightly louder drums. The lilting, breathy voice of whichever Ambridge sister handles lead vocal duties blends seamlessly with the EP’s washed out guitar tone and lyrics like “Your heart is my revolver.” It’s all glossed with a dreamy grunge-shoegaze aesthetic, which has undergone a dramatic resurgence in the past two years – for those of you that aren’t paying attention.

“Classroom Buzz” rings fitting of Nirvana with its muddy, dense chords while also taking cues from The Go-Gos through its juvenile, good-natured bop, and it’s all topped with lyrics that could go either way. Whether you imagine “Then you took me to your tree house / That’s when I kissed you on the mouth” sung in Kurt’s hoarse groan or Belinda Carlisle’s lively songbird chirp, they readily lend themselves to either style, which is pretty ingenious as far as pop songs go. The guitar and organ of Side B’s lone ballad and clear highlight “Stray Cats” meanders forlornly, casting a long shadow reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” with a deftly employed flanger pedal. “West Coast Daze” is the perfect getaway car soundtrack, relying heavily on rumbling bridge pick up of surf rock to shape its sunny, mischievous atmosphere. Judging by the lyrics of “Stray Cats” and “West Coast Daze,” (“You shook me, you devil / You meant to, you scoundrel / You shook me, you devil / You left me so hopeful”) these sisters have definitely been scorned by one or more men.

Like Side A, The Muscadettes’ Side B is a lightning-quick zig-zag between emotional highs and lows that juggles genres with relative ease. The songs are all fun and catchy enough, but hopefully the twins’ first proper first full-length will exude a bit more imagination.