Much like a modern Violent Femmes or King Missile, the Prettiots rely on a few simple elements and an amusing story to come up with a hugely entertaining package.
This debut album from duo Kay Kasparhauser and Lulu Pratt is a riot, full of modern observations on the female condition that probably hit home a lot more often than you'd expect.
With little more than a ukelele and bass and superb vocal harmonies, the magic is in the lyrics, from a list of the Boys (That I Dated in High School) to album opener 18 Wheeler ("I know that if I got hit by an 18-wheeler I know I'd look up and find that you're the driver") and ruminations on the of merits of TV character Elliot Stabler from SVU (Stabler) and Klaus Kinski (Kiss Me Kinski).
Through all this, their real trick is managing to avoid sounding like another novelty act, helped in no small part by Misfits cover Skulls, which despite its bizarre and disturbing lyrics about death and dismemberment, is an incredibly beautiful moment in the middle of an album full of fun.
Rating: 5/5 stars.
