Teenage Dads – Midnight Driving Review

Melbourne-based outfit Teenage Dads have figured out their self-taught ways and consistencies. That much is clear on Midnight Driving, their latest EP of six wonderful, swaying tracks that hit at the conscience of Australia, and the rhythm of strong basslines. Teenage Dads may be one of the few constants out there, who have started as they mean to go on and held firm to that. Midnight Drive is full of improvisations on their theme, self-grown talent and stylings. It all comes together with optimism and founded interest that usually wanes after a few releases. Eight years in, always pushing on, and finding new comforts in the six tracks here, Teenage Dads and their steady, smoothly worked Midnight Driving is a treat. 

Those heavy bass touches and the floaty guitar work of the opening, title track Midnight Driving is a warm invitation. Strong momentum, nicely layered, it marks a strong opener for Teenage Dads. Crucial to avoiding repetition on those well-worked moments is the cowbell that cracks the opening of Hey, Diego!. There is a clear and enviable joy to the likes of Teenage Dads and their tracks. Placing that optimism and upbeat momentum draw out the comfort, the consistency and the real joy of hearing something from the piles and piles of new singles that truly stands out. Waking up after seven strawberry daiquiris and several beers to open your inbox and have Midnight Driving right there on your desktop is blissful. A hangover cure, a groovy little piece of techno placements, and nostalgic beats but right at the centre is friendly rabble-rousing. 

Teddy gives the band the chance to work over some electro beats, not explosive enough to rattle the brain out of its hungover state but enough to kick the sleep out your eyes. Teenage Dads are as fun as their tracks suggest. 3am strikes back with that contemporary love ordinance but soon becomes a track far stronger than those other tracks that flank it in those inevitable playlist additions. Teenage Dads mark 3am as a sophisticated, indie-pop articulation of guidance through hardship and that comes across with a natural, genuine appeal not just for the meaning but the delivery. Phoebe Bridgers fans will love the tone, indie fans will find their footing quickly enough. Midnight Driving is a wonderful collection of yesteryear pieces that are brought back to the forefront with passion. 

Conviction is key and Teenage Dads have that in piles. Exit Sign carries on the flow of 3am with an almost story-like continuation. What Midnight Driving continues is the quality of the Australian indie-rockers. Soft touches on Goodbye Goodbye Again round out what may be one of the strongest EP releases in recent memory. Those little touches of lap steel, the acoustic steadiness and the beat deep below are the softer strokes that give not just a good end to Midnight Driving but strike the appeal of such a concept. Tracks to listen to in those dark, motorway-clad drives. If you can drive, that is. Lovely hangover music if not, for those wishing to reflect on desperate nights clawing away at the walls. Teenage Dads are the good stuff, through and through.