Reviewed on 5th June 2007.

Grown Ups

By The Lodger

Melodic indie-pop minstrels The Lodger have avoided rushing into recording their debut album, the band instead deciding to rouse interest through several single releases on a variety of independent labels. First long-player "Grown Ups" is however well worth the wait, the trio continuing their well-honed knack of writing short yet sharp pop songs that take their lead from mid-nineties Britpop.

Comprising a mixture of re-recorded versions of their older songs and new material, "Grown Ups" is enthused with a bouncy, invigorated spirit throughout. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a group intent on writing perfect blissed-out pop songs though; "Many Thanks For Your Honest Opinion" and "You Got Me Wrong" may be awash with bittersweet harmonies but there is a caustic lyrical undercurrent throughout that belies the initial feel good factor of the songs.

Recent gigs have seen The Lodger take to the stage against a large screen projection of 80s cult-classic Gregory's Girl, a tale concerning Scottish youngsters experiencing adolescence and getting into all sorts of wayward mischief along the way. Although the title "Grown Ups" is a kind of give away, the theme of the album seems to be one of making the transition from youth into adulthood, and the experiences of friendships, burgeoning romances and late-night escapades that come with it.

Many of the songs on "Grown Ups" showcase The Lodger's trademark of jangly, rambunctious indie-pop; recent single "Kicking Sand" flies by at just under three minutes, the refrain of "we're not superstars" underpinned by a catchy stop-start tempo. "The Story's Over" has a similar jaunty rhythm and is one of the highlights on the album. At over 6 minutes long, "Bye Bye" is a bit of a departure from the rest of the short and fast songs on the album, and demonstrates a slightly different song-writing approach. The drumming is consistently of a high quality throughout, and all the songs are executed very tightly and precisely.

"Grown Ups" is an album full of classy indie-pop numbers set against wistful and occasionally biting lyrical content. With this release The Lodger certainly aren't going to be moving out anytime soon.