One year out from their self-released 7-inch debut – “They’re Gonna Get Ya,” backed with a minimalist deconstruction of the Count Five’s carport-rock immortal “Psychotic Reaction” – Austin’s most impressive young garage-ists return with 10 tunes on 10 inches of vinyl revolving at 331/3 RPM. Sneer if you’ve heard this before: They’re a mixed-gender guitar/drums duo hemorrhaging enough fuzz to resemble a 1000-pound bumblebee sucking up mostly Sonics, Seeds, and Cramps reissues. Yet Teenage Cavegirl isn’t the White Stripes. She croons sweetly while pounding the crap outta the two and four beats on a snare and floor tom, like Moe Tucker’s granddaughter, while he wrestles that huge bee – only opening his mouth on an imaginative rearrangement of Holland/Dozier/Holland’s “Leavin’ Here.” Originals “Space Girl” and “Sheena Is a Trash-Bopper” are charismatic enough to power the city for years.

***.5


This article appears in July 5 • 2019.

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Tim Stegall contributed to The Austin Chronicle 1991-1995, and was a staff writer 1995-1997. He returned as a contributor in 2013. He has also freelanced for publications ranging from Flipside to Alternative Press to Guitar World. He plays punk rock guitar and sings in the Hormones.