Teen Suicide ‘Alex’

It’s a beautiful day in London. The sun is shining for the first time in days and there is just the slightest chill in the air – could we be approaching autumn already? I certainly get that sense when I walk by shop windows displaying jumpers and scarves in cosy burgundy and forest green, and from my habitual morning grope in the dark for my insulating leggings. I love summer, and I love hot temperatures and cool morning swims, but I really, really love autumn, so I’m a little bit excited to dig out the comforting sweaters that have been confined to a box under my bed. I also tend to think that London does autumn much better than it does summer; June brings two weeks of almost unbearably hot weather, then July and August come and go without incidence like a like a piss in the wind. Either way, my craving for colder days has resulted in an equally pressing craving for darker music, so thank God for Teen Suicide. Today I’ve been listening to ‘Alex’, a gloriously angsty slice of lo-fi garage rock taken from their April album ‘It’s the Big Joyous Celebration, Let’s Stir the Honeypot’. With thrashing guitars full of fuzz and Sam Ray’s unabashed pop punk vocals, the track is an absolute unapologetic celebration of teen angst, with lyrics like ‘We’re both only 16 / Skipping class to smoke weed’ reminding all of us of that weird 16 year old we all used to be (or in some cases, still are). Enjoy.