Caroline Sullivan 

The Veronicas: The Veronicas review – close-harmony Australian twins return

Jessica and Lisa Origliasso may be playing catch-up with Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, but their third album really hits the spot at times
  
  

the Veronicas band photo
Unearthly sighs … the Veronicas Photograph: PR

Brisbane twins Jessica and Lisa Origliasso are chart-toppers in Australia, but here – hampered by a seven-year gap since their last album, during which Katy Perry and Taylor Swift commandeered their market – they’re mostly unknown. But when this third album hits the spot, it really hits it. Opening track Sanctified, for instance, puts a malevolent spin on Pierces-style swamp-rock; the sisters’ close harmonies are riven by unearthly sighs and a lyric that blurs the line between sex and drowning. The raucous Teenage Millionaire could be Katy Perry with a riot grrrl twist, while Did You Miss Me (I’m a Veronica) is an irresistible EDM/hip-hop banger in which the Veronicas declare Australia their personal empire. You and Me, a sepia country tune about growing up (“Hiding out in our secret place, in the cabin where our mum wouldn’t find us”), plays to the sisters’ biggest strength – their intuitive harmonies. More of them would have been a treat.

 

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