Poor Little Things – Deal Breaker
(Independant)
Reviewed by Bridget Herlihy.
When an album opens with the sounds of a mammoth car engine turning over and roaring to life, it is fairly safe to assume that said album is brimming with some high octane tunes of the rock n roll variety. In this case, the churning of the engine also heralds a return: the powerhouse duo Poor Little Things are back for a hell of a time, with their second LP ‘Deal Breaker’.
For the uninitiated, Poor Little Things is the brainchild of Tina Jackson and Dave Talon (Rollerball, The Marlboro Men, Captain Control, Kings of the Sun). Originally hailing from Australia, Poor Little Things are now based in Switzerland. While drawing obvious comparisons to the likes of The Runaways, The Divinyls, The Bangles, Blondie, and more recently The Donnas, Poor Little Things are not a cookie-cutter band. Rather, while musically drawing inspiration from their predecessors, they have successfully formulated a sound that is very much their own. Theirs is a sound that maintains that essential degree of rawness that goes hand in hand with a punk sensibility, while avoiding being over-produced.
On their debut album ‘Discos Burning’ (2019), Jackson and Talon belted out nine tracks that clocked in at a hard-and-fast 31 minutes from beginning to end. On ‘Deal Breaker’, the duo blast through ten new tracks at break-neck speed. From the aptly-title opening track ‘Fire It Up’, the duo demand the listener’s attention with a bevy of undeniably catchy riffs and guitar solos, punctuated by Jackson’s sultry, edgy vocals. There are no ‘filler’ tracks here, with each and every one kicking ass in its own right. Standout moments include ‘Call of The Wild’, ‘It Ain’t A Lot’ and ‘The Cutest In The Band’, with Jackson sounding as if she is actually channelling the late and great Chrissy Amphlett.
Poor Little Things wear their love of classic rock like a badge of honour, successfully serving up another helping of energised glam/classic rock inspired tunes that will have even the most hardened of critics tapping their toes along to. ‘Deal Breaker’ is evidence of a band loving what they do, and doing it well; creating an instant feel-good experience in the process.
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