Beauty Pageant

Punk rock is music that was made-to-order for the energy, impulsiveness, and reckless joy of teenagers, and while older folks can certainly conjure its physical and emotional force, it never hurts to have a few actual young people on hand for the sake of authenticity. Sam Quartin clearly understands the logic behind this, and she put that knowledge to good use when she started her band the Bobby Lees. The twentysomething Quartin was having trouble finding suitable players in her peer group, so she recruited three youngsters (the oldest being 17 years of age) and let them crank out some quality noise while she wrote the songs and handled guitar and vocals. The Bobby Lees 2018 debut album, Beauty Pageant, sounds like it was made by a band still knocking all their moving parts into shape, but the nervy, soulful swagger of Quartins high-attitude vocals and snarling guitar absolutely hits its target. Her teenage accompanists (guitarist Nick Casa, bassist Kendall Wind, and drummer Macky Bowman) churn out plenty of cool noise that meshes with Quartins tunes and adds an effective level of damage of their own with their flailing power and stop-on-a-dime attack. Beauty Pageant doesnt reinvent the wheel of punk rock -- this music is fast, loud, streamlined, and cranky, just as youd expect, and the raw, garage-leaning songs and production are object lessons in the production philosophy of "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Quartin and her bandmates also have no interest in wasting time, and they manage to plow through Beauty Pageants ten songs in a little less than 18 minutes, so if you like albums with a grand statement, this may not be your cup of tea. On the other hand, if you like rock & roll that hits hard with a sense of fun and a view of rock history that goes back farther than 1992, Beauty Pageant is the kind of raw, unfiltered fun you need in your life. ~ Mark Deming