Almost

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 00:29:43
Personnel: Spencer Peppet (vocals, guitar); Claire Patterson, Clair Hopper (vocals); Andrea Gutmann Fuentes (violin, piano); AJ Bates (piano); Andrew Boylan (keyboards); Micaela Adams (drums); Yoni Wolf (percussion). Audio Mixer: Yoni Wolf. 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