by Rachel LeBlanc
Take a moment to reminisce about those awkward teenage days where you still had a youthful innocence but enough adult knowledge to make your friends blush. Pop in No-Fi Soul Rebellion‘s Terrible Muscles for a bit of help. The pubescent years will come flashing back with the playful lyrics about partying, having fun, and a lustful sweet tooth set to catchy beats.
You were the kid with two left feet at the school dances? Not to worry, one-man band, producer and song-writer Mark Heimer has created beats to which even the most dance-handicapped can move. Video game effects line the edges, especially in final track “Mirror, Mirror.” The 10 tracks are not entirely overdone though; think along the lines of a poppier Yacht. A smart-aleck tone is used to deliver the play-on-word lyrics.
Spin-the-bottle is remembered on title track, “Terrible Muscles”; you’ll be singing along to the repetitious “pucker up, spin!” “Mosquito Net” is the theme for the exhilaration felt when camping out in front of your parent’s house. But it is the song writing where adult material is covered by a youthful slant that is the most clever. Rhymes about candy necklaces, ginger snaps, bubble gum, and lemonade are used for sexual metaphors.
At under 30 minutes, Terrible Muscles could be a quick smile getter or easily fit into your party music rotation. Throw on track three, “No-Fi Soul Rebellion’s Dance Challenge” for the best beat this album boasts.
