INSOMNIATIC - ALY & AJ
In which the teen princesses of Radio Disney and their own branding empire construct an endlessly ambitious yet endlessly effervescent confessional pop-rock breakup album that deserves to carry them far beyond their teen pop base — in the Pat Benatar era, that would’ve been likely. Departures range from the delirious ’80s California New Wave amusement-park pop of “Like Whoa” to the title cut’s blurry-eyed Nirvana pastiche to “Bullseye,” with power chords hitting the spot. Tunes are dressed up in a heavenly Europop-synth sparkle, and the lyrics — frequently harmonized through complex Destiny’s Child time signatures — turn blood on the tracks into a celebration: “I used to wear your shirt to bed / Now it’s in the trash instead”; “I’m getting closer to closure”; “Let me repeat that / I want my stuff back / You can send it in a box.” On their birthday. Their “stupid birthday.”
