Not to be confused with Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, a 1950's sugary sweet doo-wop ensemble. Oh god no, The Teenagers in question here are three Parisian fellows in their mid twenties, with a taste for adolescent girls, parties, fucking adolescent girls and fucking at parties. It all started, like so many success stories of the noughties, on Myspace. Michael Szpiner, Dorian Dumont and Quentin Delafon cooked up The Teenagers in late 2005 as a fictional group. Creating a Myspace page and furiously adding 'friends' at a rate of knots, the trio began posting lyrics up on their page in response to messages left by dozens of girls. Certainly a novel way to start a band but hardly a recipe for an illustrious and lengthy career in the music industry, if there is such a thing these days. However, things took off, and the lyrics took on life as fully formed songs which brought the singles 'Fuck Nicole', 'Homecoming' and 'Starlett Johansson'. All of which became mainstays of indie discos last year. Before long, they had 10,000 friends and a record deal. See - it's as easy as that kids!With all of the above taken into account, I approached this record with baited breath. Is it possible for three sleazy french dudes to create an album of real depth and longevity when the opening lyrics read like a porno mag? Is that the intention? Probably not. See, The Teenagers like to dance. And they really like to make music that makes you want to dance too. Thats pretty much their manifesto and, on knowing this, you can take this record for what it is, a throwaway slice of eighties electro that you wouldn't want your mum to hear.Opening track 'Homecoming' is a stroke of genius. Think The Postal Service fronted by Serge Gainsbourg with Roy Chubby Brown's opinion of the female form and you'd be on the right path. The songs narrator flies out to America to visit his Auntie and is quickly introduced to her stepdaughter who is "a cheerleader, she's a virgin, and she's really tan" (sic). Just in case you were wondering; "on day two, (he) fucked her, and it was wild". Spoken in a perverted French drawl that you know you shouldn't find funny but do. The Teenagers are here to party, to get drunk and to sleep with your sister/daughter/cousin/girlfriend (delete as applicable). Talk about a mission statement; "It was dirty, a dream come true.... she’s got nice tits". Kings of romance you know, the French.Three tracks in though and the formula begins to wear thin and the lyrics become sickly sweet instead of just plain sick. The sexual content is replaced by a call to arms theme tune with 'Feeling Better' whilst future single 'Love No' deals with the trials and tribulations of a modern day relationship. Neither tracks are earth shattering. It's not until 'Starlett Johansson' that things pick up again. The paen to the American actress works a treat; "I’ll sell my mum to be lost with you, lost in Tokyo or anywhere else" verges on the poetic, even though, deep down you know they just want to have sex with her. The lyrics are delivered in the same brutally honest Parisian drawl that quickly becomes the major selling point of this record, and ultimately, its downfall.Lets face it. Quirky lyrics can only get you so far, the music has to hold court too. And, more often than not, it's the musical side of things that becomes the Teenagers stumbling block. The swathes of keyboard over driving synthetic beats and guitar become all too similar. Whether sped up or slowed down, the song remains the same leaving a huge percentage of Reality Check dissapointingly forgettable. On the other hand, if you look at the grand scheme of things, The Teenagers formed as a 'joke' band, a bit of fun. And whether its for 5 or 40 minutes (depending on your attention span) fun is exactly what you get. In spades.So the conclusion? The Teenagers; perfect for a one night stand. Just dont take them home to meet your mother. 62%Links The Teenagers [myspace] [official site]