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Combustible Gems
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Combustible Gems
Current price: $22.99
Barnes and Noble
Combustible Gems
Current price: $22.99
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New Jersey band
Lightheaded
make indie pop that casts a wide net. Their 2023 EP,
Good Good Great!
, was five songs that moved quickly from dour jangle pop to '60s-informed instrumentation that called to mind the chamber pop sweetness of
the Beach Boys
or the folksy sensibility of
the Byrds
. There were even hints of the reverb-saturated wave of dark pop that reigned supreme on the earliest
Captured Tracks
releases. All of these touchstones are revisited and expanded upon with
's proper debut album,
Combustible Gems
. Every song takes a slightly different approach while maintaining a consistent songwriting aesthetic, which makes for an album of colorfully diverse highlights that doesn't feel too piecemeal. The production is deep and defined, also, giving the synths of opening track "Always Sideways" a little extra sparkle and the naive 12-string leads of "Dawn Hush Lullaby" an added push that wasn't there on the EP. Vocalist
Cynthia Rittenbach
's performances have a balance of drive and restraint that calls to mind twee standard-bearers like
Camera Obscura
or
Belle & Sebastian
, as the instrumentals shift between twinkly, acoustic,
Smiths
-y melodrama on "Still Sitting Sunday," mod-tinged peppiness-meets-
Sarah Records
shakiness on "Bright Happy Girls," cavernous synth arpeggios and gothy harmonies on "Hugging Horizons," and other interpretations of melodic and sensitive indie sounds.
Erin Turner
's violin arrangements add the final touch that makes
an exceptional entry in the indie rock pantheon. Closing track "Because of You (3 Sundays)" puts
Turner
's strings in the foreground, with graceful waves of violin harmonies sharing space with surfy guitar lines and aching vocal arrangements. While
is only a few tunes longer than
's previous EP (with eight songs total), the band packs every song with ideas and sounds that are tastefully crafted and always changing. Even for as intricate as the album's construction is, it's assembled with a touch so light that it creates an easy, repeatable listening experience.
is a striking debut, on par with some of the work that informed it in a continuum of gorgeously imperfect indie pop. ~ Fred Thomas
Lightheaded
make indie pop that casts a wide net. Their 2023 EP,
Good Good Great!
, was five songs that moved quickly from dour jangle pop to '60s-informed instrumentation that called to mind the chamber pop sweetness of
the Beach Boys
or the folksy sensibility of
the Byrds
. There were even hints of the reverb-saturated wave of dark pop that reigned supreme on the earliest
Captured Tracks
releases. All of these touchstones are revisited and expanded upon with
's proper debut album,
Combustible Gems
. Every song takes a slightly different approach while maintaining a consistent songwriting aesthetic, which makes for an album of colorfully diverse highlights that doesn't feel too piecemeal. The production is deep and defined, also, giving the synths of opening track "Always Sideways" a little extra sparkle and the naive 12-string leads of "Dawn Hush Lullaby" an added push that wasn't there on the EP. Vocalist
Cynthia Rittenbach
's performances have a balance of drive and restraint that calls to mind twee standard-bearers like
Camera Obscura
or
Belle & Sebastian
, as the instrumentals shift between twinkly, acoustic,
Smiths
-y melodrama on "Still Sitting Sunday," mod-tinged peppiness-meets-
Sarah Records
shakiness on "Bright Happy Girls," cavernous synth arpeggios and gothy harmonies on "Hugging Horizons," and other interpretations of melodic and sensitive indie sounds.
Erin Turner
's violin arrangements add the final touch that makes
an exceptional entry in the indie rock pantheon. Closing track "Because of You (3 Sundays)" puts
Turner
's strings in the foreground, with graceful waves of violin harmonies sharing space with surfy guitar lines and aching vocal arrangements. While
is only a few tunes longer than
's previous EP (with eight songs total), the band packs every song with ideas and sounds that are tastefully crafted and always changing. Even for as intricate as the album's construction is, it's assembled with a touch so light that it creates an easy, repeatable listening experience.
is a striking debut, on par with some of the work that informed it in a continuum of gorgeously imperfect indie pop. ~ Fred Thomas
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