Breslin Siblings' sizzling debut.
Cars Love Girls have an impressive pedigree. The Breslin siblings Bres – a co-founding member of Republic Of Loose – and singer Orla front a band that also includes another Looser, Declan Quinn, and Phil Hayes of Delorentos and Bell X1 pedigree. Their fresh sound merges elements of unapologetically commercial pop, with rock, pre-Whitney R&B, dance-lite and a cheery line in cheesy sax.
They open with the wistful and shimmering ‘What’s On My Mind’, before the upbeat ‘These Girls’ cruises in like a real pop cutey, all heart-melting harmonies and cascading keyboard fills. ‘Lose Your Mind’ is beefed-up Fleetwood Mac backing Madonna, restless rhythms, glossy guitar chords and Orla oh-so in charge. The bouncy and lyrically amusing ‘Future Ex-Wife’ cheekily channels Prince. ‘Cars Love Girls’ is a sumptuous mix of East Coast brass and keyboards that oozes a kind of casual confidence we rarely hear on Irish debut albums, and ‘Left Us Sly’ revisits Prince, it’s insistent hook-line, “Turn It Up” likely to inhabit your brain for days, its radio reference evoking Van Morrison’s ‘Caravan’.
Elsewhere, listen up for Bres’ sparkling, spiraling fretwork, Orla’s consistently provocative vocals and a band astightasthis on ten tracks clocking in at under 40 minutes. Cars Love Girls have all the subtlety of Republic Of Loose but have added some poppy features to deliver an album designed to bring a smile to your face and a hop to your step.