In between pulling double duty with The Shaker Hymn and The Tan Jackets, Caoilian Sherlock has been threatening to release a solo album for years. First testing the waters under the moniker St. Caoilian over 5 years ago, his first full-length album Teenage Jesus is more than worth the wait.
Album opener ‘The Wheels Come Off’ is a dreamy, sentimental exposition to a record that drifts between its psychedelic, folk, pop, and country influences, showcasing a singer-songwriter who is at ease with his own creative process.
Stand-out tracks include ‘Candidate’, a snappy and self-deprecating rock ‘n’ roll homage with more fuzz than a mouldy peach; ‘Push Away The Oil’, showcasing some dizzyingly sweet harmonies from Leah Hearne, and ‘Nancy and Lee’, a nostalgic odyssey through the aftermath of a breakup.
In the title track, Sherlock sings the earworm refrain of “We all like to see the underdog win”. If the line is meant to be self-referential then I’m not convinced. His wordplay is masterful, the production is inventive, and the harmonies are sickly sweet. If the journey from St. Caoilian to Teenage Jesus has left him thinking that he’s the underdog, then that’s the only thing that could get in the way of his obvious talents. Mike Ryan
