Work From Home

Retro indie pop, female vocals. Debut LP from this NYC trio led by Marisha Chinsky. Sweet & introspective, variously dark and bright, nicely noisy and often dreamy. Lyrics disarmingly young. Mix of guitars, keyboards, glockenspiel. Simple but musical. Points of reference: Belle & Sebastian, Tallulah Gosh, Velocity Girl, Heavenly. Excellent songs, spare but perfect production. FCC clean. Start with 2, 3, 4, 10.

1. Indie-dance pop song that builds instrumentally. About youthful angst. “I don’t want you to know me. I don’t want you to care.” Starts with guitar & maracas. Fades quickly.
==> 2. Shoegazey, layered pop, like Lush when they’re happy... or New Order. “Chain around my neck/ weighed a ton today/ So sad that I forgot/ What it is to be afraid.” Starts with guitars & drums. Slow fade.
==> 3. Sorta dreamy sound with super-simple keyboards. About winter (real, not California). “You warm to me/ That’s all we need to be.” Starts with a bit of backwards drums. Ends suddenly.
==> 4. Minimal & fragile, sorta like Boyracer. Gets louder. Melancholy feel. “Fell apart then feeling fine, then adding up to zero.” Starts with guitar and voice. Ends with slow fade that includes a cymbal hit, then about 3 secs of silence.
5. Dancey pop. Sing-songy melody, though more sad than sweet. “I made it up on the spot/ Connecting my own dots.” Starts with loud, dancey drums and simple lead guitar. Fades with words “My internal monologue.”
6. Dreamy pop ballad about disconnection. Chinsky sounds a bit like Julie Doiron here (a compliment). Starts with full band. Slowish fade.
7. Melancholy ballad about love, loneliness, and ennui. Starts with guitar & voice. Gets sparse at end, ends with high-hat/tambourine.
==> 8. Dark, psych-ish dance-pop about being away from who you love. “You hit send/ It’s like a kiss/ Hopelessly we’re questioning/ The mystery we miss.” Starts with synth. Gets a bit noisy toward end, then fades with fast-echoed chord.
9. Dancey & sad. Starts with full band. Slow fade with five secs of silence at end.
==> 10. Noisy, lush lullaby. Mid-slow. Reminiscent of Psychedelic Furs. “I hope you don’t call/ But I want you to/ As long as it’s not me/ Who answers the phone.” Starts with full band. Slow fade.