The Pink Spiders

Teenage Graffiti

[4/5] By now, you probably already know the Pink Spiders’ Cinderella story, which finds the band being transformed from obscurity to full-blown rock stardom (at least in their heads) literally overnight. However, while that fairy tale may be a cliché, the music on the band’s major-label debut, Teenage Graffiti, is anything but. In the course of 13 songs, the band tackle full-on rock assaults (“Soft Smoke”), ’70s garage (“Nobody Baby”) and power pop (“Little Razorblade”) with equal aplomb. Frontman Matt Friction is able to simultaneously evoke Axl Rose and Rivers Cuomo, yet he still manages to keep Teenage Graffiti remarkably cohesive (save for the inexplicable Beatles ode, “Adalae”). Dangerous enough for outcasts but safe enough for suburbia, the Pink Spiders have crafted a pop masterpiece with Teenage Graffiti. Where they’ll go from here is anyone’s guess. (SURETONE/GEFFEN) Jonah Bayer