Excuses for Skipping

Local San Francisco ethereal m/f pop. Very pretty and rich. Some dreamier, some a bit more intense. ALL GOOD.
1)“Kirrie” (4:54). Gentler. Acoustic mid-tempo, until 0:13 when drums and m/f gentle vox enter. Reference to “Mission Bay.” A lick of electric guitar occasionally shows itself, more at 0:49. 1:45 song picks up more, more at 1:57. F stronger, with tenor-ish m “ba ba’s.” More instruments, including piano/keyboard. 2:50 gets quieter again, like beginning of song. 3:40 song is quiet until another all-out. End at 4:51, with a nice strong drum.
2)*“Decision To Be Normal” (3:38). More intense. Bassy intro, deep drums, deep synth at 0:11. Tempo picks up 0:34. Guitar at 0:40. Drum gets crashier. 1:02 echo-y, deeper f vox. Spacey sounds, spacier distortion of vox. Melodious vox background, too. Tambourine more after 3:00. End at 3:35.
3)**“The Ether” (5:31). Dreamier, with more intensity as song progresses. Slow guitar and bass intro, gentle drums 0:09, more melodius guitar addition. 0:35 f vox, echo-y and more distortion on longer notes at end of each line. 1:07 crescendo with drums, guitar, bass, followed by deeper “whoa-oa’s.” 2:18 build-up is back. After 3:00 you can hear more f vox in background. 3:45 more focus on guitar melody, drums are softer, then other guitar build-up to 4:00 with more focus on vox. 5:00 ‘til end of song - instrumental. Abrupt end at 5:28.
4)*“California” (5:43). Dreamy, but lighter than previous song. Faster, gentle guitar opening. Rolling drums at 0:09. Repeating background vox are both f and m, both m/f about 0:40. Layered, slower m/f harmony 1:00-1:10. More vox-focused than previous 2 songs. 2:39-2:52 m/f nostalgic answer and call of “California” (what song about California doesn’t have this?). More m/f harmonies at 3:20. Song slows down after 3:58. More keyboard/accordion? at 4:56. End at 5:41.
5) “Sister” (4:01). Rolling, crashing drumbeats until 0:10. Mid-tempo guitar and bass join in. F vox 0:27. M falsetto “hoo hoo’s” in background at 0:43. F yelp at 1:30. HANDCLAPS at 1:48 as f vox get distorted and melody gets minor. Her yelp is back at 2:18. BE CAREFUL - CD MIGHT SKIP AT RANDOMLY AT TIMES AFTER 3:10. =(. You might want to fade the song out after 3:00.
-margot