Full Review

Teen Mortgage, Smoked Review

Teen Mortgage (James Guile (vocals, guitar) and Ed Barakauskas (drums)) is a Washington DC garage punk two-piece. Presenting a solid sound saturated in their local scene’s left-over fuzz and sludge, the duo quickly bulldozed their way to a regional standing. Teen Mortgage focused on assaulting the publics’ ears on incessant east coast tours and opening for notable bands such as Ron Gallo, Surf Curse, Big Business, Alex Lahey, The Chats, Bass Drum of Death, JEFF The Brotherhood, Mike Krol, The Coathangers, etc. Teen Mortgage released their debut EP Life/Death on the world through Brooklyn, NY’s King Pizza Records in 2019. The project has sold out its limited cassette run, and album cuts have earned sync deals with Vans Shoes, Evil Bikes, and the Showtime series Shameless. Life/Death also gained recognition with multiple 2020 Wammies (The Washington Area Music Awards) for Best Punk Band and Best Punk Song for “Falling Down.” The onery duo is now releasing their second release via King Pizza Records titled, Smoked.

Bottom Line: Washington DC’s twosome, Teen Mortgage, returns with a five-song post-pandemic EP called Smoked, their 2nd release through unctuous Brooklyn cassette slingers, King Pizza Records. The duo holds true to their seething surf punk roots, creating riffs to frame their explanation of this cultural wasteland they call America. A hip surf punk riff opens the door into Smoked on the opening track “Shangri-La.” With the vocals just peaking over the dark hues of the guitar and churring drums, “Shangri-La” spins out a solid song with an energetic cadential figure. The title track, “Smoked,” gets its name from the skateboard community and means to fall hard after a trick. The driving rhythm grabs your attention for the verse. The chorus smooths vocally but does not lose its drive. The interlude riff is sneaky and develops the theme. The second interlude is followed by an extended guitar melody and aggressive drum patterns that build to the final chorus. “Ghost Girl” has a richly overtoned guitar riff that frames Guile’s vocals. “Can I Live” presents a steady driving guitar figure for the verse juxtaposed with an active chorus. Again, Teen Mortgage creates an instrumental interlude that is solid and catchy. Overall, Smoked is a strong second outing for the punksters from Washington DC, Teen Mortgage. Teen Mortgage is unapologetically aggressively coming to harass your ears, and that is a good thing. That’s the short of it!