Move over Liz Phair and Belly, well from my CD collection anyway. Colleen Green is taking over.
Compared to the other Pop_Rock Queens of the past, Green’s vocals are whispier than Phair’s (much like Belly), but both share the monotone style. She also rocks the guitar with the similar heavy distortion as her predecessors. However, Green’s collective sound is not imitative of Phair’s, the songs hold their own distinctness and originality. Green’s style goes a step further by infusing a drum machine to complete the gritty sound and add to the uniqueness. What’s special about these artists, collectively, is they have something to say; whether it’s straightforward raunchy lyrics like Phair or metaphors like in Belly’s “Feed the Tree.” Green belongs in this category because she also has a voice and wants it to be heard, you become captivated because she’s interesting. There are layers to this girl, it’s not just cut and dry with Green, she is complex in the best way.
Green discovered Punk Rock at the age of 11. I hope that’s not when she discovered weed, as she candidly owns up to being a stoner and often references the habit in her songs. Green fronted a pop-punk band before going solo and heading to California. Her first LP Milo Goes to Compton, was originally self-released in 2011 on cassette tape. During 2010-2012 Green was compiling her tapes that would later be released by Hardly Art Records as 4 Loko 2 Kayla & CUJO. Now ready to release her debut LP with Hardly Art, Sock it to Me.
Green’s sweet singing takes us on a delightful ride with Sock it to me. Green and Phair are near miss kindred spirits, in “Only One,” if not for the contrast in lyrics I would say this song was a leftover that didn’t make it on to the 1993 explosive Album Exile in Guyville. Where Phair sang “I want a boyfriend,” Green sings “I love my Boyfriend.”, but both exude a nonchalant attitude in their singing with cheerful riffs. Electric percussion sweeps throughout “Time in the World,” the song is simple, but energetic and notably a highlight on the album. It also gives away Green’s laid back manner singing ever so casually “we have all the time in the world”. “You’re so Cool,” showcases Green’s monotone voice and ends with the vocals slightly amplified. Greens lyrics are down-to-earth, “Darkest Eyes,” “My boyfriend’s got the darkest eyes that you’ve ever seen, darker than midnight on Halloween.” Green doesn’t need angst for these songs to work, her lyrics are the antithesis.
Green is not your average girl, but she sings about wishing she was sometimes on “Every Boy Wants a Normal Girl,” she sings “Sometimes I wish I was a normal girl, like the ones on TV, like the ones in movies.” /“Like the ones at my school, popular and cool.” This is a pivotal song on the album because it exposes another side of Green, in that she has inhibitions like everyone else.
Colleen Green’s vibe is calm, cool, and collected, without being overly confident. And Sock it to Me, out now, is a hybrid of sweet vocals, energetic percussion, and raucous guitar.
Purchase Sock it to Me here