On Valentine's Day, Teresa Castrillo aka TERE! shared her video for Normal Girl, a wistful, tender ballad about growing up without giving in, and holding onto hopes and aspirations in the face of adversity. Seated at a grand piano, surrounded by tea light candles and accompanied by a string quartet and three backing singers, the Spanish singer/songwriter reflected, "When I was 14 I lived with a dream / How do I tell that girl it's not as easy as it seems", her disenchantment all the more striking for the fact that, aged 20, she has only just left her teenage years behind.
But, don't be misled, Castrillo isn't looking for your sympathy or consolation, for No More Manners, as its title suggests, is a fearless and utterly unapologetic declaration of independence from an artist who's clearly over all the bullshit, and isn't here to play nice anymore.
From the moment that the opening montage of cut-up 1950s TV soundbites laying out painfully out-dated gender role assumptions gives way to a dirty, distorted guitar riff and the barely-controlled fury of I Know What You Did, with its scathing central lyric"How could I ever love a stupid girl like you?", No More Manners is an alt. rock riot, a whole-hearted and full-blooded rejection of demure and mindful 'nice girl' clichés.
The finger-snapping sass of Doll and the theatrical, flamboyant sheen of Liar contain echoes of Billie Eilish at her least-fucks-given, while Man has an undercurrent of rage that will strike a chord with anyone who felt Olivia Rodrigo's Vampire. But TERE! is very much her own woman, and a striking, singular new voice, with the sweet acoustic guitar-driven Poetry, the powerful piano-led The Dream and the punky snarl of Chicas Como Yo (Girls Like Me) further evidence of her range, versatility and talent. Self-produced, self-written and self-released, No More Manners is a fabulously assured debut: if you're searching for the missing link between Hayley Williams, Billie Eilish, and The Runaways, look no further.
