For about two years now, the online music magazine buzzword has been “derivative.” Here is an example of how an online music magazine/indie rock know-it-all would use this word: “Oh my God, I can’t believe that no one has noticed how Interpol are so derivative! They’re ripping off Joy Divison!!!! And they’re not even having seizures!!!”

But why exactly is “derivative” such a dirty word? Why is there the belief that every album must be entirely new and original for it to receive a good review? There’s no such thing as an entirely new record; no matter how much an artist attempts to be avant-garde, someone will be able to compare it to something. So, here we are with Prelude from the Morning After Girls, a disc which combines both of their previously released EPs. Is it derivative? Of course. Prelude is colored with shades of the Dandy Warhols in tracks such as “Run for Our Lives” and “Always Mine.” Other songs, like “Hi-Skies” with its alternated screaming and slurred vocals, sound like a crash course into the school of Craig Nicholls. And the later half of the EP is more reminiscent of recent Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; tracks such as “Straight Thru You” and “Slowdown” are blues and Americana-influenced, much like BRMC’s Howl. But does that make this album bad? No: these songs are catchy, and while the influences may be easy to spot, never do they take away from the music itself.

What does make this release suffer, however, is the fact that it’s just two EPs slapped together to create a full-length album. A newcomer to the Morning After Girls will be hard-pressed to actually define their sound, or even who they are as a band, after listening to Prelude. The experience gained is the realization that the Morning After Girls are a band with a lot of marketable potential, but without a clear sense of identity. Perhaps when they release a full-length of new material, they’ll be fully defined as a group; for now, though, we can only make assumptions, and enjoy a scattershot collection of promising – if not entirely original – songs.

Reviewed by Megan Giddings