If I were to describe Sissy Mena’s debut, Young Girl, in one word, it definitely wouldn’t be “sissy.” Obviously children of the guitar heavy alterna-rock and latter shoegaze era of the early to mid-1990′s, Chicago indie rockers Sissy Mena create epic buildups, climaxes and cool downs with ease. Even more impressive is how comfortable the band sounds in the studio, as if they were old pros and not first timers. Young Girl is very palatable excercise in channeling influences but with just the right amount of tweaks so as to create rather than recreate.

If a standard verse-chorus-verse song is a straight line. Then mapping Sissy Mena’s tunes would leave you with a page full of squiggles. These guys aren’t the type of band that relies on catchy hooks or poppy production. There are a few catchy vocal lines tossed in here and there, but it seems the band’s main focus is the instrumentation as the vocals are a bit lower in the mix than the music that engulfs it.

That’s not to say lead singer and guitarist Tyler Brinegar isnt’ a great singer, quite the contrary as his style is a bit of a hybrid between Jeremy Enigk and Ben Gibbard. But it’s Brinegar’s guitar playing and ability to switch things up from a steady driving riff to a dive bomb solo on a dime that is key to Sissy Mena’s sound. Still, that’s not to take anything away from drummer Adam Bonich who manages to stick with Brinegar for every turn and adds low-key, but clever fills throughout. Then there’s bassist Taylor Briggs who also plays piano, wurlitzer and does some programming on the album. Briggs adds to the dense musical soundscape that really makes Young Girl pop upon first listen.

Opener “History” starts off with a bouncy mid-tempo guitar riff that screams contemporary indie rock from bands such as Death Cab For Cutie or Broken Social Scene. Then two-thirds of the way through, Brinegar’s guitar leads the band into early Sunny Day Real Estate territory of softly whispered vocals under fuzzy riffs. The song ends with a powerful Smashing Pumpkins guitar solo rave up.

“Certain Smiles” offers a driving beat over urgent guitar strums that intertwine with an off-kilter section chock full of wurlitzer antics before easing up into a slow build up. The band gets the most shoegaze-y on “Pay For Some Sins,” which begins with a fuzzy dischordant guitar riffs, galloping drums and a warbling bass line that creates a stunningly hypnotic mood and never lets go. “I’ll be right there/ I’ve got to pay for some sins,” sings Brinegar before the noisy and raucous coda. Title track “Young Girl” feels like it should have been written in Chicago during the early 1990′s. The massive chord strums and quick staccato changes really conjure up images of that alternative-nation era.

While the album itself sounds reasonable, the production could be a bit more rhythm section friendly. Sometimes the bass gets lost in the mix and it’s difficult to distinguish from the additional noise. But as previously stated, the guitar tone is spot on for what Sissy Mena is going for – it’s warm, gritty, fuzzy and lighters-in-the-sky ready.

Young Girl is a very solid debut from a Chicago band that sounds like they’re comfortable in their own skin. There are no special effects or gizmos and gadgets at work on this record, just the sound of three fans doing their best to live up to their musical heroes. As stated before, although their influences could be easily pinpointed, their music sounds original rather than derivative, and that’s an accomplishment in itself. The album even gets better on repeat listens. Here’s hoping Sissy Mena can stay the course and continue to evolve organically as the thought of a follow-up is sure to excite when Young Girl comes to an end.

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Catch Sissy Mena Thursday, April 8 at Subterranean. Tickets are available at Ticketweb.com right now for only $5!
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Sissy Mena – “History” – Live at the Darkroom – 9/23/09

Sissy Mena – History from Tyler Brinegar on Vimeo.