For its debut, Rebel Girl rerecorded its former band’s album, Sugar’s 11 After. Giving it a rockier edge, Old Enough works if you can ignore the manufactured punk attitude: misplaced F-bombs and one too many “let’s go” chants. Nevertheless, the band laces its ’80s rock with decent harmonies and indelible hooks, enhanced by producer and ex-Warrant vocalist Jani Lane. The problem: He cranked the vocals and guitars but buried the drums, driving the immediacy out of rockers like “Animal,” which aims to be a tiger but purrs like a kitten.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2006.