Allo Darlin’, Allo Darlin’
Featured Album
Disarmingly earnest and quick-witted accounts of falling in love
The self-titled debut from London-based quartet Allo Darlin' is about falling in love — on dancefloors and at parties, on Ferris wheels and in the kitchen — and the fluttering, anxious feeling of wondering of where you'll end up, or who you'll end up with, after the bar closes. There are mentions of Polaroid pictures, Woody Allen films and favorite Weezer songs, soundtracked by jangly pop hooks that owe as much to the Cure as to Cyndi Lauper. The Weezer number in question is Pinkerton's "El Scorcho" — which in itself name-drops Public Enemy and Green Day — and Allo Darlin' manage to not only mention it in "Kiss Your Lips," but also weave its chorus perfectly into the song, sing-shouting, "I'm a lot like you so please, hello, I'm here, I'm waiting/ I think I'd be good for you and you could be good for me."
Fronted by Elizabeth Morris, who also plays in Tender Trap, Allo Darlin' make clean-cut indie pop that's heavy on tambourines, shakers, ukulele, and surf-pop guitar and bass licks. It's unabashedly twee — "Heartbeat Chilli" is backed by Morris's ukulele as she sings wistfully about spaghetti with heartbeats in the recipe, and "The Polaroid Song" has flute trills amid lines about stocking up on the instant film before it expires — but it's balanced with Morris's disarming earnestness and impressively quick wit. After a few spins, it'll be hard not to cling on to her every word.
