Kleenex Girl Wonder
Graham Smith is the Coolest Person Alive (MOC)
Coming from anyone else, the assertion contained in this disc’s title would be grandiose, but one can forgive teen wunderkind Graham Smith almost anything, since musically speaking he usually delivers the goods. Like many prodigies, Smith, the pride of west suburban Downers Grove and the leader of Kleenex Girl Wonder, has a quicksilver mind that’s unsatisfied with mastering any one genre; he roves restlessly from the thrumming British Invasion-powered pop of “The Bostonians” and “Julie & Barbara” to the loungey shagadelic vibe of “Road to San Francisco”; he throws in the occasional fuzzy disco excursion or grunting garage number just for kicks. The prolific Smith has demonstrated his delightful knack for memorable sing-song hooks on previous records, but the new development here is that his indelible melodies are accompanied by lyrics that range from perverse to profound in just one line. It makes you wonder about the cool things he’ll be capable of once he’s old enough to buy a beer.