Review: Halloweens - ‘Morning Kiss At The Acropolis’

HALLOWEENS
MORNING KISS AT THE ACROPOLIS

Young and Lanham of The Vaccines let loose and have fun on a retro Pop-Rock throwback debut album from Halloweens. ‘Morning Kiss At The Acropolis’ is guaranteed to leave you smiling and feeling uplifted.

★★★★

It would be perhaps tempting to dismiss ‘Halloweens’ as the Diet version of The Vaccines. Due to the fact, the duo comprises of The Vaccines frontman Justin Young and keyboardist Timothy Lanham. You could even argue Halloweens vintage pop sound is reminiscent of The Vaccine’s ‘English Graffiti era. The similarities may be obvious, but if you take a deeper listen, the subtle differences between the two groups shine and you can see why Halloweens had to be a project all of its own.

Justin Young, Brian Wilson or Elton John? A question I find myself asking frequently throughout Halloweens debut effort. Young has always had a tendency to lean towards the melodramatic with a cheesy retro embrace. ‘Morning Kiss’ indulges those desires head-on from the Elton John styled rock opener ‘Rock Bottom Rock’ through to the Pet Shop Boys meets Motown smooth synth stylings of ‘My Baby Looks Good With Another’. You can almost picture Young crooning for his lost love from a Shure 55 Elvis microphone shaking his hips.

Fun is emphasized throughout and if you don’t have a wide grin across your face for at least one of the tracks then I’ll be shocked. ‘Lady’ in particular with Young’s piercing and ludicrous falsetto is jubilant. If you’re feeling more sensitive and fancy an old-time waltz in your living room then you don’t have to look further than swooning ballads ‘Broken English’ and ‘Corridors Of Love’. Finally, if you just want to invoke a bonkers fantasy then how about visiting ‘Paris Undercover’, ‘Map Of Vietnam’ or the tantalizing ‘Pizza Shop By Beret’ with the incredulous lyric “We DJed at the pizza shop, And just about survived the drop, But no one ordered rock and roll with pineapple on top.”

Like Alex Turner’s ‘Last Shadow Puppets’ side project, Halloweens is a chance for Young to flex his creative muscle to conceive enjoyable vintage Pop-rock. Young’s recent comments at a heavier, face-melting direction for The Vaccines means Young at least, for now, has an outlet for his more sensitive and soulful side. So if you’re looking for a fun escape in these mad times, you can’t go wrong with ‘A Morning Kiss At The Acropolis’.