National Music Reviews
Bleached
Ride Your Heart
Dead Oceans
Street: 04.02
Bleached = Ramones + Go Go’s
They’re like Vivian Girls, but more polished and with better singing, like Best Coast, but punk rock. Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, formerly of the all-girl punk band Mika Miko, join with Jonathan Safley and Sara Jean Stevens to form LA’s Bleached. This is simple, three-chord garage-pop full of sunny vocal melodies and catchy hooks. Blonde hair, jean jackets and plastic sunglasses are required for listening—that’s kind of the band’s uniform, too. Though they’ve released a few 7”s on various labels, this is the first full-length from Bleached, and “Looking For A Fight” and “Waiting By The Telephone” stand out the most. There’s enough punk energy left over from Mika Miko to bolster the garage vibe, and, even though there’s a guy in the band, Bleached still keeps it plenty girly. –Cody Kirkland