ALBUM OF THE DAY
Album of the Day: Partner, “In Search of Lost Time”
By Luke Ottenhof · September 12, 2017

Partner, a dual-guitar, riff-slinging rock ‘n’ roll outfit from the east coast of Canada, treat rock music with about the same reverence as Weird Al Yankovic. Over stadium-worthy power pop choruses and blistering solos, frontwomen Josée Caron and Lucy Niles sing about eating frozen pizza, pissing their pants, being high and paranoid, and discovering their roommate’s dildo.

They’re hilarious, relatable, ultra-badass rock anthems that reflect Caron and Niles’ lives. At first glance, it seems like the content is pure levity; paired with arena-sized rock-riff grandiosity, it might read as a clever repositioning of rock ‘n’ roll’s traditional self-importance and insufferable cis-het hypermasculinity. But it’s worth examining what reads as comedic and what doesn’t in rock music. Robert Plant sang about Gollum and sex fluids dripping down his leg, and Kiss characterized their genitals as guns, and those songs didn’t incite gut-busting laughter at the time. In the context of rock’s history, In Search Of Lost Time is just continuing a tradition of talking about awkward, intimate minutiae and nerdy obsessions via mammoth guitar lines. It’s not necessarily intentional comedy; it’s simply an honest representation of Partner’s reality.

It’s unspeakably enjoyable to mosh while listening to songs about throwing on sweatpants and staying in bed all day (“Comfort Zone”) or faking sick to stay home from school (“Daytime TV”). Partner have created a bangin’ rock record to celebrate underrepresented identities and everyday experiences, paired with Weezer’s Blue Album-esque thick guitars and keen melodies. It can be received as either humorous or life-affirming, but either way, it’s a delight.

—Luke Ottenhof

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