The first thing you’re likely to hear (or have heard) about The Orwells is that they’re 17. All of ’em. Our society seems to have a fascination with kids do activities normally saved for adults. In light of this undeniable phenomenon, the line between what actually can be considered talent and what is merely a novelty can tend to blur. No worries here; these kids sit firmly on the latter side. As for why I think The Orwells are just so damn good, all I can say is that age has nothing to do with it while also having everything to do with it.
What do I mean by that? Let’s start with the fact that musically, these kids are sick. There is no shiny “I can’t believe they’re so talented for being so young!” commentary to be had here. These Chicago suburb natives are straight-up talented, tapping into a raw punk sound that for the most part has been missed for a couple of decades. And though the band doesn’t hide behind the novelty of their youth as a selling point for their music, their age has everything to do with how great their material is. These five high school misfits have tapped into the complete and undeniable anger of a generation who has only ever been reminded of how much they have been given.
Not that this fact in itself is a bad thing, but no one can deny that American suburbia is ripe with a brand of dissatisfaction that is difficult to give a name to. While there’s quite a bit of philosophizing that could be done on that matter, The Orwells get straight to the point, singing about the things that every American teenager knows — mallrats, school suspension, being unsure about pretty much everything. The shredding guitars and straightforward lyrics fearlessly rip into these subjects, which carry the possibility of bubblegum superficiality. They are real, they are concrete, and they rock.
Their first LP Remember When is out August 7. For the sake of any angry adolescent or anyone who can simply remember being one, here’s hoping that this album is the first of many.