If you’ve seen The Orwells live, you know they like when things get wild. Lead singer Mario Cuomo perfectly fits the unruly, I don’t give a fuck, nature of the band. With sixteen-year-old girls clawing at Cuomo’s belt buckle and pulling on his lion mane hair, The Orwells shows are not for the weak of heart.
In an age where people are craving some good old-fashioned, unpolished garage rock, The Orwells have risen from seemingly out of nowhere to become one of the quickest growing of their kind. Hailing from the suburbs of Chicago, these friends (two of them twin brothers, a proven formula for success) graduated high school less than a year ago to pursue music. Although their sophomore LP, Disgraceland, may not be full of the surprises you’ll witness at their shows or on Letterman, it more importantly reinforces the young and disorderly summer anthem vibe that makes them so damn addictive.
The album feels authentically adolescent because it is. Filled with vividly described teenage trysts and one-liners such as, “Staying up looking at the stars/Making out on the hood of my car” and “Give me a smile then take off your pants,” each track is an honest yet un-cliché look inside a teenage boys mind. Opening track, “Southern Comfort”, is a sexually driven story of backseat love, and kicks things off with the catchy guitar riffs the group is known for. Standout track, “Dirty Love”, is an oddly endearing almost love song that sings, “I lost my mind/I lost my shoe/I found myself when I found you.” The album keeps up its steam as it progresses with catchy tracks such as “Let It Burn”, “Always n Forever” and closes out with the more low-key “North Ave”.
So what makes this group of unruly dudes standout among all those other teenagers jamming in their garages? What is it that’s allowing these youngsters to begin the climb toward contemporaries like Thee Oh Sees and Japandroids? The secret is this: The Orwells’ rock and roll songs are grungy yet poppy, an effect that leaves you feeling as if you’ve been rolling in dirt but are refreshingly clean. Evident on tracks such as “The Righteous One”, their rhythms are made not only for head banging but also induce a kind of swaying — a combination that could certainly make them radio-friendly.
As Haim’s Days Are Gone is a transition from young woman to woman, The Orwell’s Disgraceland is a teenage boys drawn out stay in reckless adolescence and the learning curve associated with maybe, someday, eventually coming out on the other side. In “Southern Comfort” Cuomo sings, “I’m not that old but I’m getting pretty wise.” Evident from this comprehensive album as well as their rapid climb up the garage rock ranks, they’re definitely learning something.