(Flying Nun/Valve)

Album number three from Portland-based Kiwis

On latest album Screens, New Zealand expatriates Mint Chicks (who now call Portland, Oregon home) dish up a noisy burst of Casiotone power pop, melodically punky songs propelled by plinky-plonky keyboards and heavily-processed sounding drums. The group sound at their most irresistible and fun in the ultra-catchy Don’t Sell Your Brain Out Baby and I Can’t Stop Being Foolish. They go all sloppy and glitchy-psychedelic in the woozy What A Way, but still manage to sound engaging and a great deal less self-indulgent than my description would suggest. In the title track, the group could be a ‘60s Nuggets compilation band, in a parallel universe where they had Casio keyboards in the 1960s. The strength of Mint Chicks is their strength and originality as a keyboard-dominated rock band – theirs is a lo-fi world where ‘60s rock fuzz, ‘70s punk aggression and ‘80s video game soundtracks are not merely fitting together, but combining as one. Devo meets Carter USM, maybe? Make your own combinations, folks, hours of fun for the family!

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MATT THROWER

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