Lisa Prank’s newest record is eleven songs overflowing with beguiling pop punk riffs and cheeky yet introspective lyrics. The record addresses relatable experiences through empowering breakup songs (i.e. “you can have all of my old records, I’m sick of them anyways” from “Take It All”) and also melancholic teen crush/first love type romanticism—very appropriate for a record titled Adult Teen. Even as a one piece, Robin Edwards, the sole woman behind Lisa Prank, brings a lot to the table—she performs with just an electric guitar and a Roland MC 505 drum machine, providing a simplistic and an at ease vibe to her dreamy bedroom punk.
The name, Lisa Prank stems from a blatant pun on everyone’s favorite 90s neon dolphin sticker creator, Lisa Frank. And that’s how the music sounds—energetic, colorful, and bubbly. The music itself is even clearly influenced by this decade—there is a heavy similarity between her music and 90s pop punk bands. However, her lyrics are representative of the dejected and indifferent dichotomy of experiences in our current generation—“let my phone die/for the first time/I don’t have anywhere to be/I guess I’ll just go home” from “Drive Anywhere.”
The record as a whole seems to tell a complete story, a full-fledged fucked up romance story—in “Jumper,” Edwards sings “when I’m not falling/I’m looking for a ledge/and then you smile at me/I’m jumping off the edge/and then you kiss me/and I’m jumping in your bed”—showing the melodramatic thoughts of a young romance. In “Luv is Dumb,” a more love-struck song—she sings “your love is making me dumb/I’m checking your horoscope/trying to remember the things you said.”
“Turn It Up,” with its simple drum sounds and dreamy guitar resembles that of a Beat Happening song. She sings in a soft, monotone voice “if you’re sad, you’re listening to the wrong song,” then concludes the song with “keep hoping growing up isn’t growing numb/rather be lonely than belong to anyone/I say it’s true, I know it’s not” presenting hopeful yet gloomy state of being.
The more angsty and empowering songs truly drive the record. “Let Me Write Yr Lines” speaks to a failed expectation—“I am finding out/the reason nothing’s in your mouth/yr long hair hides a waste of time/oh baby, let me write your lines/I’d stick my tongue in your mouth/to keep your words from coming out.” The Seattle-based musician concludes her album with “I Want to Believe,” which has a synthy, Devo inspired feel—it’s super dancey, making the colorful record come full circle.