Saturday, 23 Jan


Underwater projections reflect the sounds of a warbling Wurlitzer and wide guitar reverb…

Indie duo Christy & Emily—joined by bassist and drummer The Liberal Arts—played Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room last Saturday, making music that was recognizable but new sounding, infectious but unpredictable.  

“Gueen’s Head,” juxtaposed rock ballad style choruses with mysterious rippling murmurs from the Wurlitzer, while “Thunder and Lightning” had a stripped-down, punk rock feel to it.

Christy & Emily played alone for the Debussy-esque “Lover’s Talk,” which seemed to advise the heart broken from fathoms below.  

Before the band launched into the night-sky-like “Superstition,” Emily gave the audience a mini disco ball to pass around during the song.  The last person holding the ball was asked to play “The Christy & Emily Game” of subjective questioning: “Pretend you have a house; where are you more afraid to go, the attic or the basement?”  “I’m not afraid!” was audience member Joe’s initial answer, before being reminded by Emily that only one of two answers was acceptable (he chose the basement).

Christy & Emily’s set ended with the country-tinged “Tigers,” featuring tightly woven vocal harmonies.

 
Look for Christy & Emily back in NYC upon their return from this month’s Austro-Swiss-German tour.

Say hello to Frida Sundemo, indie pop artist from Sweden. 

"Drops" begins by setting an ethereal atmosphere, with glockenspiel and a repeating high piano chord.  The song abruptly drops to earth as the vox enters for the verse, joined by electronic rhythm section and bass, and glock/piano disappear.  The chorus unites ethereal and earthy, as Sundemo's voice becomes breathy, and the glockenspiel and piano return over the lower, rhythmic texture of the verse.  "Drops" ends as it began, the earthy falling suddenly away to leave the music in the clouds.

"I Was Surrounded" is full of cute glottal stops in unexpected places---"I was sur/rounded, I was so fr/ightened"---and the safe way in which the rest of the harmonies play with the ever-present F#, heard in a higher register than is usual for a drone, results in unalloyed charm.

"Ready, Steady, Go" brings to mind a happy montage in a quirky 1960's foreign flick, particularly the lite-jazzy sounding circle of fifths progression, ending with panache on a major seventh chord, heard at the end of the chorus.


Hear these and more at www.myspace.com/fridasundemo