I Forgot Where I Was Going, So I Came Back
Scandaliz Vandalistz
(self-released)

This five-piece anti-folk outfit (think Moldy Peaches without the potty mouth) is a teen band that began at White Station High School. These precocious songs about pets, school subjects, and movie critics are indulgent, sure, but not as much as you might expect. I'm pretty sure my friends and I were more self-conscious and insular in our White Station days. The white-girl dork-rap of "The Sophocles Rap" ("By the way, I wrote this in pre-AP/Using my vocabulary, can't you see?") should be annoying but isn't. Best of all is the song that the band's already gotten a bit of press for, "Hey Mr. Beifuss," a charming tribute to The Commerical Appeal's film critic. (Inspirational lyric: "Hey, Mr. Beifuss/I can be your Frankenstein bride/We'll make homemade horror movies/We'll be screaming side by side.") Overall, it's not quite as fun to listen to as it probably was to make, but you better believe I hope my daughter is so smart, kind, and self-possessed at 18. -- CH
Grade: B+