The SoundBite

Best Tracks – 6.24.22   Soccer Mommy – “Following Eyes” Sophie Allison hit her stride on 2020’s Color Theory , a record that at the very least, proved she was more than the timbre of her voice. Now with Daniel Lopatin handling production duties, Soccer Mommy proves it’s a project with legs. “Following Eyes” may show the biggest contribution from Oneohtrix Point Never, with its gurgling drums and gothy synths, but Allison shines on the biggest and brightest chorus on the album. But even when she is bursting out of the steady, low tempo fair, she never dissuades the track's inherent despair or seems too restrained by it.   Martin Courtney – “Sailboat” Coming off the slight pastoral flicker of his solo debut, Magic Sign feels like more of a success than it is, partly because, unlike Many Moons , it sounds like it involved effort, and partly because it’s a throwback to the sound Real Estate has mostly left behind. Courtney’s control over his main project has taken the band into s...

Hercules & Love Affair – In Amber When Andy Butler released his self-titled debut as Hercules & Love Affair back n 2008, it was met with critical acclaim, partly because Butler’s disco revival pastiche was somehow ahead of its time, but mostly because Anohni was in the midst of his creative peak. “Blind” topped plenty of critical lists at the end of the year, and as great as Butler is, it’s hard not to admit that Anohni’s transition from steely art-rock crooner to dance-floor frontman was more compelling. Since then, Anohni has been reliably consistent, even with their scant output, and Butler has been just as consistently hit or miss. A full-length reunion from both artists was heavily anticipated, but the result is not exactly what was expected. On Hercules & Love Affair , Anohni transformed themselves into something vibrant and arresting, but on In Amber , it’s Butler who’s changing it up. “One” could easily have been pulled off the last Anohni album and even when...

Best Tracks – 6/10/22   Grace Ives – “Lullaby” Ives has taken the formula that worked so well for her on her debut, 2 nd and simply improved on ever measurable facet. The songwriting is more consistent, the production is clearer and beautifully layered and Janky Star , above all else is more mature. Even a track as wistful as “Lullaby”, a song that seems destined to be written and performed in a dorm room is elevated immeasurable by Ives’ growing confidence as a singer and conceptual understanding of the music she makes. If this track was written for her debut, the drum machine and basic programmed beat would have been sufficient to make this a highlight, but on Janky Star , Ives is constantly weaving extraneous instrumentation, echo, and sample loops into the mix, never cluttering it, but instead, demonstrating how well she can create her own micro-orchestra.   The Dream Syndicate – “Beyond Control” Since 2012, when Steve Wynn reformed The Dream Syndicate, we’ve...

Grace Ives – Janky Star On 2019’s 2 nd , Grace Ives debuted her take on synth-pop – stringing together a series of programmed instrumentals that seemed to support her as a singer more out of necessity than purpose. What Ives made was really bedroom pop, and each track benefited from a sort of DIY charm, one where the tracks would float by briskly and the album would wrap up in less than a half hour. She left plenty of room for growth and on her follow-up, Janky Star , Ives is able to pour her talents onto a slightly larger canvas. Her melodies are still here, and so is her off-the-cuff brevity. These tracks are only slightly longer, but each one sounds more thought-out, and more adept at their individual focus. The synths and instrumentation play less as demo accompaniments but instead, are as important to the structure as Ives herself. Take the chipmunk vocal breakdown on “Back In LA”, not only does it sound professional and warranted, but it carries with it the same blissful naiv...