When did we start saying "I'm going to go see that band tonight"? Was it when Pete Townsend smashed his guitar? When GG Allin smashed his face on the stage? When AC/DC inflated Rosie? Who can say, but one thing's for sure - somewhere along the way, listening became secondary to looking. In the case of Melbourne's Little Red, however, people would filter out of their early shows, raving about the harmonies, the guitar tones, the whip-crack drums. Sure, the suits were cute, and the smiles were mile-wide, but here was a band who had so expertly cultivated their sound that you just wanted to shut your eyes and let it wash all over you.

It's fitting, then, that their debut long player is called Listen To Little Red. It's as much a throwback to the days of naively didactic album titles as it is a command. The record sounds clean and fresh and ready and willing, like it's turned up to take your daughter to the junior prom with a refrigerated corsage and a souped-up convertible waiting outside. But this is no retro freakfest; it's timelessness.