We are so impressed with Lisa Jaeggi. While watching her new video projected at our CMJ show at The Delancey on Saturday (thanks InDmusic peeps for picking it!) we realized what an amazing progress this singer songwriter has made in the few years we've been familiar with her music: in her new album "Epic Epic" the songwriting, production, vocal delivery, and even attitude reached a whole new level of confidence and maturity, and also "decorative" (but important) elements like this new video, the press shots, and the album's cover art are beautiful and compelling. Her songs "Whether He Knows" and "The Difference Between" (listen to them on her Facebook page), and "All the Good" - in the embedded video - showcase a budding artist with the potential to warm many hearts with her thoughtful, melancholic rootsy pop that deals with narratives splashed with religious and political observations to carefully constructed thoughts about city life.
"Uptempo" and "Pop" are by themselves two concepts that - in the business of being an indie band - can take you quite far; but if on top of that you add to the equation also comparisons to The Smiths, then the hype can get out of control. Brooklyn's Drowners have more than one similarity with Morrisey's act, and although they will surely feel belittled by such comparison, they should not, because no artists really managed to be The Smiths' worthy musical heir yet (like, for example, XTC were for The Beatles, Robin Hitchcock for Syd Barrett, and The Strokes for Lou Reed - uhm, maybe...).
The band's 3 songs debut EP features the remarkable single "Between Us Girls" (streaming below) which immediately throws us back to the days of "Meat is Murder," with the electric guitar alternating between jangly parts and arpeggios, and Welsh frontman Matt Hitt singing semi-melancholically about some girls' hair length - rather than about how big they are... The edge is slightly punkier, while the songwriting reveals an almost clinical concision (the song clocks in just under 2 minutes, with the first chorus coming in after 26" - A&R allergic to intros will dig that).
The second song, "You've Got it All Wrong," beats a similar musical path, tackling the infinite well of inspiration that (for Brits) is life at the pub, with the difference of a slower bridge, which acts as a breather for the final chorus. Final track "A Shell Across the Tongue" is the punkier of the bunch, but also the one with the least memorable melody.
This is obviously a band with enormous songwriting potential. If they'll manage to write songs as good as these and integrate their influences in a more mature and personal sound, the world can be theirs. - PDG
