Amy Franz and Hayley McKee first met at Catholic school (in Melbourne, Australia), sometime later they learnt their instruments and formed Super Wild Horses. Their debut record – an album of simple pleasures, untidy drums and frazzled guitars – has a careless charm papered over the duo’s occasional lack of solid or engrossing songs. This is garage rock personified; listen carefully enough and you will probably hear the neighbours banging on the garage door: the girls of course oblivious, having far too much fun to stop and listen. Yet it is when the song-writing competes with the noise that things get interesting. The excellent title track ‘Fifteen’ manages to build a melody and story within the confines of the distorted parameters; a continuous vocal across a thumping rhythm. And there are more such moments: the ominous wave of guitar on ‘Goldentown’ provides the perfect backdrop for some attitude and downbeat harmony. The production, taken on by Mikey Young of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, manages to balance order and disorder in equal amounts: which is probably no easy task. There really isn’t a bad track on this record, yet there really aren’t many great tracks either – the more melancholic ‘Stranger by the Day’ does end the set on a high (and reveal further depths), leaving Bowlegs confident that we are yet to hear the best from these two. And with each song averaging just two and a half minutes, there is little danger of the duo outstaying their welcome, seemingly more than happy to turn up, set up, bang ’em out, pack up and hit the road – which isn’t a bad philosophy really.


