Adult Teen

Solo pop-punk act Lisa Prank follows up her quirkily appealing 2014 EP, Crush on the World, with Adult Teen, her debut full-length and first for Father/Daughter Records. Denver native Robin Edwards adopted her punny stage name -- a parody of 1980's Trapper Keeper/sticker baron Lisa Frank -- in 2013 when she began performing as a one-woman band, singing and playing guitar to the tinny beats of an old Roland drum machine. While her name and minimalist setup might suggest the smartass odes to whatever of similarly outfitted forebear Atom and His Package, Prank's tone is surprisingly a bit darker, though not short on wit. Snappy bedroom pop gems like "Luv Is Dumb" and "Starting Again" have a pleasant Ramones-ian thump and the lonesome "Turn It Up" cops Hal Blaine's signature Brill Building drum pattern for a bittersweet cruise through young heartbreak. Prank's introspections and romantic defeats make for a far more winsome spin than her winking pop-punk troubadour image indicates. ~ Timothy Monger