Fingers Crossed

Following the dissolution of her band Burnt Palms, singer/guitarist Christina Riley found herself continuing to write songs but missing collaborations. Sharing a reverence for the punkier side of the late-century D.I.Y. indie pop of the C-86 movement, K Records, and their musical progeny, she enlisted bassist/singer Donna McKean (Lunchbox) and drummer/singer Mario Hernandez (Kids on a Crime Spree) to form Artsick, a term Riley used to describe her discontentment. The trio recorded a raw, tuneful 7" that made fans of Slumberland Records, which signed them for their anxious debut album Fingers Crossed. The 11-song, 27-minute set bursts open with "Restless," a twist on the Stones in which Riley, in straight-faced, sing-talking manner, repeatedly asks "Satisfaction, where -- are -- you?" The uneasy outlook continues on "Despise," a galloping, feedback-washed punk entry replete with vintage girl group harmonies, handclaps, and a rollicking bassline. While it varies tempos and simple rhythms, Fingers Crossed never really changes course, delivering clattering, borderline moshable pop tune after indie pop tune. Arguable highlights include "Ghost of Myself," whose self-doubt ("Just a ghost of myself/Haunting me in my own house") is offset by its uptempo, hopscotch-worthy bounciness, and "Stress Bomb," which says a lot with few words and compact hooks. While the tracks are consistently infectious, lyrics are persistently overcast, rhyming words like "complicated" and "frustrated" on the way to a bleak long-range forecast. The fuzzy "Be OK" does its best to ward off anxiety, but even it realizes "It could be the best day/But I cant escape my brain." The album closes with "Fiction" and a James Jamerson-derived bassline that adds up to 11 for 11 for fans of the style. ~ Marcy Donelson