Self-Taught Learner - EP

Album Review

Vocalist Lissy Trullie's debut album is a lo-fi post-punk-inflected affair with a kind of melancholy melodicism that rubs nicely against Trullie's yearning and raw vocal style. A kind of stylish and educated waif with a fair amount of jaded street swagger, Trullie comes off on record as a bit of a fashion model with a punk attitude — which makes sense, as she made cash in college posing in mags like Soma and Elle. In that sense, Trullie evinces a kind of contemporary take on such iconic female rock artists as Patti Smith as well as such contemporaries as Karen O. Nowhere near as arty or poetic as the former nor as rambunctious and eviscerating as the latter, Trullie nonetheless stands her ground as a compelling frontwoman. To this end, tracks like the chiming and angular "She Said" and the epic anthem "Ready for the Floor" bring to mind a kind of British rock-influenced indie rock that's equal parts Morrissey and the Strokes. Elsewhere, the torchy title track rocker and the mid-album Afro-pop dancer "Don't to Do" recall both Blondie and the Boomtown Rats without drawing too much attention to the comparison. Trullie maybe a self-taught learner, but her punchy and catchy debut also reveals her to be a natural-born rock star.