Rolling Stone Reflector Review
Killing Heidi�s debut album is finally here, and it�s been worth the wait
Clever kids, Killing Heidi. You�ve got two solid-gold pop hits on your books (the pastoral pop of "Weir" and the synth-and-guitar growler "Mascara"), so why not make them the lead-off tracks on your debut long-player? And with crafty producer Paul Kosky (Crowded House, the Clouds) working the desk, there�s a bounty of other hits-in-waiting on Reflector. The turbocharged "Dub" capably demonstrates the band�s best assets: a steady grasp of pop dynamics and Ella Hooper�s sexy, sassy wail of a voice. She�s really the band�s not-so-secret weapon, part teen minx, part earnest chronicler of trouble in teenland.
Still, what the Heidis do is hardly revolutionary - it�s basically feisty riffola tempered with synths and handed over to producer Kosky for colouring - but it works. "Leave Me Alone" is notable for what could well be an amped-up sitar lurking just beneath the surface, while "A Jar Labelled Small" is equally clever, coloured with (but not buggered by) strings and Hooper�s strident vocals.
Clearly the Heidis need to outgrow their dependence on slow-fast-slow-fast pop grungola and Hooper�s wised-up-hippie-chick stance. Yet Reflector remains an assured long-player, especially for a quartet of country kids barely out of puberty.
[taken from the Rolling Stone Australia website]