Free Advice

The lead singer and main songwriter of Cindy, Karina Gill, started the group after picking up a guitar and singing for the first time in 2016. The project went on to release an eponymous, self-produced debut album in 2018. Returning the same rhythm section and adding a dedicated keyboardist, Cindys second album, Free Advice, showcases the groups unusual amalgam of indie pop and dedicated slowcore inspirations. The 11-track, 36-minute set goes by quickly but also languidly with mostly plodding tempos alongside vocals that come across like half-spoken, distracted thoughts. At the same time, many of the bands tunes have the hooks and slogans of classic indie pop -- if accidentally played at a too-slow rpm. Opening track Discount Lawyer, for instance, features churning guitar and a rhythmically syncopated melody that delivers lines like You sound tonight/Like a discount lawyer/Talk is cheap/You can trust me on that/Cause the bill when it comes/Its got my name on it as if underwater. The singer/guitarist is also joined on the song by humming keys, a spare tambourine or hi-hat, and measure-marking bass drum that occasionally expands to full, muffled kit. Much of the album continues in kind -- subtly catchy and half asleep -- with exceptions coming in the form of tracks like the brisk and fuzzy Wrong Answer, which embraces a hazy, uptempo punk, and the strummy, shaker-accompanied Falcon Heavy. Standout entry A Song in French falls somewhere in between those and the rest, with its midtempo wistfulness and Casio-type keyboard line clearly indicating heartbreak for those who cant translate. Attractively gloomy and ramshackle, Free Advices reticent pop disarms much more often than not. ~ Marcy Donelson