Single Review: Germaphobe

This is the debut single from Otautahi artist Mim Jensen, and a load of fun it is too. It commences with jangly guitar and Mim’s vocals, and soon we are taken into commercial indie rock which has definite nods back to the likes of Fur Patrol. Although this is credited just to Mim, one can tell that this is a band who have gigged plenty together, and when we get to the bridge about halfway through, everything gets cranked up and one can imagine this gets quite raucous on stage! At the heart of everything are those sweet and innocent vocals, and there is even a little catch in her voice here and there, all which endears us to Mim as she equates her last boyfriend to being a germ, hence the song title.

While it has links to the Nineties scene, we also get taken back to the power pop of bands like The Pretenders while there are also some Flying Nun influences and if she had been from Dunedin instead of Christchurch, I would not have been surprised at all. Mim’s voice grabs us hold, while the harmonies and full band sound combine with the hooks to ensure we stay enthralled in a song which may start delicately enough, but soon builds to be an anthem. In slightly more than four minutes we are taken on a journey with a lot going on, and it has certainly got me interested in hearing a lot more. It is one heck of an introduction.