With an origin story that involves female teens who felt underutilized in each of their majority-male bands,
the Ophelias
make their label debut with 2018's
Almost
. It was produced and mixed by fellow Cincinnati musician and
Joyful Noise
labelmate
Yoni Wolf
(
Why?
). He honors the thoughtful, low-key chamber pop that the quartet of former opera, surf, and garage rock performers devised together and then introduced on the self-released
Creature Native
album in 2015. While their lineup includes a dedicated violinist/pianist (
Andrea Gutmann Fuentes
), that doesn't stop the band from conveying angsty indie rock, especially on a song like "O Command." It opens with a dreamy prologue consisting of voice and strings before they launch into a rumbling power trio that's accented by quivering and high-pitched violins that carry the effect of shimmering electronics. The track also accommodates irregular meters and a return to the drifting A-section as singer
Spencer Peppet
is further antagonized by an untrustworthy presence. The impression of being at once carefully composed and freewheeling is a happy contraction throughout the album. Most of the tracks also feature lilting melodies with a certain
Frankie Cosmos
quality to them. The sweeter "Lover's Creep" offers that, along with sunny harmonies, a violin solo, exaggerated delay, and distorted spoken word recordings. Dissonant and more anxious while still maintaining a melodic through-line, "House" also addresses a problematic relationship ("Sometimes I hate you but you know I care"). The overall effect is warm, unsettling, and artful, but most of all catchy, up to and including the intimate closer, "Moon Like Sour Candy," which ends with a mandate to try. ~ Marcy Donelson