Turbo Fruits started off as a Be Your Own Pet side project, and that was obvious enough on their self-titled debut album from 2007. Sure, BYOP were a rowdy bunch, but without frontwoman Jemina Pearl to keep the boys classy, they were given license to get even more lewd and obnoxious than usual, and the result was a record that was like the musical equivalent of a filthy off-campus apartment shared by a bunch of gleefully immature young single dudes. Echo Kid, the band's first album since Be Your Own Pet's dissolution last year, is a bit different. They're still a balls-out garage rock outfit, but main man Jonas Stein has refined his voice, sharpened his chops, and penned an album that can be loosely described as "suave." You'd never want to call this stuff mature, but they've definitely grown up a bit.
Stein doesn't come close to Pearl's level of bratty charisma, but he's got a solid voice for British Invasion-inspired rock, and is especially good at affecting a playful, lascivious tone without tipping over into skeevy, unsexy Louis XIV territory. The most appealing thing about him is that, as much as he plays the horny flirt on songs like "Naked With You" and "Lotta Lotta Ladies", he comes off like a decent, respectful guy rather than some dumbass creep. In fact, Stein is kind of a sweetheart. This is most apparent on the tender yet snappy ballad "Hold Me", which I imagine is exactly the kind of song girls hope to have written about them by their rock-dude crushes. "My Stupid Heart", a gentle slow dance number, is even more corny and old-fashioned, but he's sincere enough that it doesn't just seem like an empty smirk of a tune.
When Turbo Fruits get riled up, as on the opening track "Want Some Mo'" and "Trouble!", they build up a good energy, but it's noticeably different from what they went for on their debut or what Stein wrote as a member of Be Your Own Pet. He's set aside the cartoon violence and manic jolting rhythms, and settled into a relatively subtle quasi-rockabilly vibe. The songs are just as dynamic, but the music has more room to breathe, allowing for pretty melodic arpeggios and clever touches like the whistled hook in "Mama's Mad Cos I Fried My Brain".
To some extent, you've heard this all before. There's not a lick, hook, or lyric on Echo Kid that won't give you a feeling of déjà vu, but the execution is strong and the music is pleasurable enough that it hardly matters. To complain about a lack of originality here would be like bitching about cheeseburgers being more or less the same at every diner. Actually, this album is just like a diner cheeseburger: Cheesy, greasy, bloody, goes good with beer. It may not the best example of its kind, but it's satisfying all the same.
