FEATURE:
Second Spin
The Veronicas - The Secret Life of...
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ONE of the more underrated duos…
in music are The Veronicas. The Queensland duo of sisters of Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, they released two albums this year: Godzilla and Human. Human is their fifth studio album. Whilst most of their albums have received large praise and acclaim, I feel the debut album, The Secret Life of..., is one that does not get too much attention. Released in 2005, it is a great album that introduced the world to the incredible duo. Songs like 4ever and Everything I’m Not are big songs that open the album. Maybe the controversy around ‘Dr. Luke’ (Lukasz Gottwald) in the intervening years has slightly tarnished perceptions of The Secret Life of... (he is one of the producers listed) To me, there is very little to fault about the album. Though some gave it a really positive review, there were a few that were more mixed. I have not heard many songs from The Secret Life of... played on the radio in a while. It is an album that we should revisit and cast in a fresh light. If you are not familiar with The Veronicas, I would advise that you start with their 2005 debut. It is a really solid album! Despite the fact there are a fair few producers in the mix, it is the performances of the Origliasso sisters that makes The Secret Life of... pop, shine and remain in the memory. Before wrapping up, there are a couple of contrasting reviews that I want to highlight.
This 2006 review from SLANT is a little mixed:
“From the opening notes of "4Ever," the snarling, riot grrl single that opens The Secret Life of the Veronicas, the Aussie exports tousle your hair, grin knowingly, and slam you against the wall. It's all guilty, trashy fun, but there's a small problem. Nothing on the Veronicas's debut breaks any ground that hasn't already been thoroughly plowed by more than one American artist—Avril Lavigne springs most readily to mind, but there are any number of equally acceptable answers. I'm not sure about you, but I've had about all I can take of precocious sexpots ripping off the Runaways—bratty pre-teens who master a few chords, swipe a few pages from their diaries, frame it all in a Lolita-lite package and watch the millions roll in. A thousand critical curses then upon twin sisters Jess and Lisa Origliasso for making these 12 cuts (11 originals and one cover, Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother") so damned slick and irresistible. Such is the curse of professional chick-pop. There's a punky sassiness to most of the album (which features co-writing credits from Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida, Chantal Kreviazuk, pop-music anti-Christ Max Martin and Toby Gad), but, by and large, the Origliasso siblings are about as threatening as Jennifer Love Hewitt; "Everything I'm Not," the unexpectedly tart "Secret," "Revolution" and "Mouth Shut" all feel like the estrogenically inclined counterparts to the boy-toy confection that is the Click Five's Greetings From Imrie House. The Secret Life of the Veronicas won't ever be considered anything more than what it is: utterly disposable, shamefully enjoyable, and transparently unoriginal music that, in a just world, will spend its brief moment in the sun entertaining the 11 year olds who wouldn't dare miss an episode of That's So Raven”.
There were quite a few sources that were full of praise for The Veronicas’ debut. This is what AllMusic had to say in their review:
“The Veronicas sound like a marketer's dream: impossibly cute Australian twin sisters who sound as if Hilary Duff and Avril Lavigne formed a band. If image is everything, this duo has a look that rivals that of t.A.T.u., and it's far less sleazy, too. But good images don't necessarily make for good records, and that's the real surprise behind their debut album, The Secret Life Of...: it's a terrific little pop record. True, their bold, brightly colored pop may not be everybody's cup of tea, but for those who have found the teen pop of the mid-2000s to be a serious drag, The Secret Life Of... is an unexpected gift, a slick, tuneful set of pure sugarcoated fun. While the Veronicas don't exactly break from the post-Avril punky pop that's been the blueprint of teen pop from Ashlee Simpson to Good Charlotte, there's a greater sense of song and studio craft on their record, whether it's coming from veteran teen popster Max Martin (the man behind Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys) or the sisters themselves. And make no mistake, for as polished as this album is, the Veronicas come across as a genuine band, not a prefabricated pop novelty. Not only do Jess and Lisa Orgliasso have a hand in writing eight of the 12 songs on The Secret Life Of..., but there's a kinetic chemistry to their performances that gives this album both a center of gravity and a broader appeal: like Kelly Clarkson, they don't seem like cookie-cutter pop tarts, they seem real.
Of course, they're packaged and presented as a creation, but that's why The Secret Life Of... is such a good record: it plays by the rules of punky teen pop, and by doing so, it reveals how dull and formulaic the rest of the genre is. Here, melody runs through both the verses and choruses, the hooks dig deeper, not just on the tracks helmed by Martin, but on the Orgliasso sisters' songs, too. The Veronicas are sassy and sexy, not trashy, and they show humor and heartbreak here, which helps elevate their debut to the top ranks of 2000s teen pop”.
I am going to wrap up in a second. The Veronicas’ sound has evolved since their 2005 debut. That was a really good year for Pop. Some saw the album as committee-designed and unremarkable. Others praised the personality, strength and diversity of The Secret Life of... By the end of 2005, the album was certified platinum. By 2006, it was made a further four times platinum with a shipment of 280,000 copies. The Veronicas followed their debut with Hook Me Up of 2007. The duo’s songwriting came more to the fore. It sounds like an album where they are the driving creative force. Even so, The Secret Life of... is a terrific album that should get some more love and airplay. With two great albums out this year, it has given me a chance to go back and look at…
THE Veronicas’ impressive debut.