Joy Zipper "American Whip"
It sneaks up on you, but by the middle of Joy Zipper's new album "American Whip," you start to get suspicious. Do I really know these people? Where are they taking me? Are those smiles real or just painted on?
After an aptly titled 59-second"Sunstroke" intro musical duo and real-life couple Vinny Cafiso and Tabitha Tindale lure you in with "Christmas Song."
They woo and soothe you into a false security, into a warm indie-pop dream world with enough sparkle to make your vision hazy.
Suddenly, you're laying in Monet's purple blossomed fields at twilight with "My Bloody Valentine," on a salty So-Cal beach in the afternoon, flirting with Brian Wilson, and dancing in the street at dawn with the Raveonettes after a night spent in their gritty Gotham.
The high lasts through the playful "Baby You Should Know," the gentle "33X," and then the quirky "Out of the Sun," but when the brief "Drugs" hits, something in your gut wakes up and tells you this just isn't right.
It turns out the LSD-laced spoonful of sugar cubes is really there to help the bitter medicine go down.
The melancholy "Dosed and Became Invisible" is a major downer but is still beautiful, with heartbreaking strings and moving lyrics.
The poignant "Alzheimers" follows, captivating the helplessness of the disease without getting philosophical or tasteless. The clouds have settled in, and you can't help but feel a little reflective, if not sad.
Revenge winks on "Ron," a sassy song about a boy who apparently was a jerk when we were young. "In The Never Ending Search for a Suitable Enemy" creeps in and then sways between innocence and surrender. The short "VSX" gives enough of a reprieve to gather your thoughts before the album ends with "Valley Stream."
At first, the acoustic strumming and subtle strings of the closing track seem simplistic in comparison to the density dominating the rest of "American Whip," but Cafiso's crooning combined with Tindale's breathy vocals charm you before it ends.
On "American Whip," Joy Zipper takes you on sun-drenched trips that drip with honey and honest depressants that pierce the heart, but through it all they always manage to slip sophistication and grace into the layers of their psychedelic noise-pop.
Ivy "In the Clear"
But really, "In the Clear" has everything a soundtrack needs. It's atmospheric, it explores different emotions and isn't aggressive or distracting.
"Keep Moving" is the groovy dance track for a smoky club scene, the kind of club where most people are too cool to dance but can't help but sway.
"Four in the Morning" is the perfect score for those anxiety-filled insomniac nights. And the creeping "I've Got You Memorized" teases in its feigned exasperation over a potential love interest.
The songs don't drag on, but are long enough to roam around in, take a look around and appreciate the scenery. And like a good movie, you come out with your head full of fuzzy thoughts and your eyes seeing shimmering spots; but you're not upset.
Singer Dominique Durand has the perfect voice for this kind of thing. This is probably because, like similar-spirited Air or Phoenix, she is French, and the French sure know how to set a mood and make you feel it. Durand's vocals continue the Nico tradition, almost masculine and slightly smoky, but fully captivating.
At times, Ivy sounds a lot like Air. Album opener "Nothing But the Sky" is subtle in its growth and beauty, like any of the French duo's best work.
Ivy's "Ocean City Girl" could very well be Air's "Cherry Blossom Girl" on a lonely night, after the suitors are left and she is alone with her thoughts.
But Ivy leaves the electronic atmosphere occasionally and comes back to earth to just pop and rock, but manages to stay out of the dirt.
Adam Schlesinger is also the drummer in Fountains of Wayne, and while Ivy is too hushed to ever be considered power pop, some of the juicy hooks and bouncy rhythms are still there in songs like "Thinking About You" and "Tess Don't Tell."
With its sweet veneer, "In the Clear" immediately pleases the ear, but takes a few listens to really sink in.
Give it some time, and you may very well find a place for each song in the scenes of your life.
