Chew Lips // Unicorn

Surprisingly, Chew Lips first two singles aren’t on their debut album, Unicorn, which live seemed to be their best. Even more surprisingly, the album doesn’t suffer. A captivating collision ensues for the duration of the album, where slightly predictable and cheesy electro pop instrumentation contradicts brilliant vocal melodies, giving the whole sound a new and original battleground. Tigs, an explosive and enigmatic front woman even for the heaviest of bands has the most beautifully smooth voice that is thick with emotion, and has the most inoffensive tone I have heard since Chrissie Hynde. It could easily get drowned in such swirling synth sounds, but the hooks that she comes up with are just great. Subtle and quirky, yet catchy as hell, she has confidence that allows her to deliver the hooks, and not shove them down my throat. Unicorn gets better with every listen, slowly indenting its way further into my nostalgia with great lines like, "all the comfort of an old time lover”. This is the perfect hangover listen; laid back and soft, but enough edge to get you going. The electro backdrop even starts to get a bit sleazy and dirty (how I like it) on tracks 3 and 4, where I could easily reference Nick Zinner’s disco escapades. The standout track for me is penultimate “Golden Key”, which best displays Tigs’ epic vocal delivery fighting with moments of dirty synth, and builds so satisfyingly towards a brilliant atmospheric climax.