As the year has progressed, several
great singles and EPs have been released for which I have written reviews or
should have written reviews. I’ve waited
for many of these bands to go ahead and release new full length albums before
offering my thoughts, but several have not yet materialized. So, over the next week or two, I hope to
share my enthusiasm for some great singles that have come along during 2014
that I’ve neglected to share.
Gingerlys
“Jumprope”
7” EP
Shelflife Records just keeps finding really fun pop
music! Gingerlys is a new New
York band that takes the beautiful and dreamy songs
of early Shelflife legends like Arrogants
and Brittle Stars and infuses them
with a dose of speed and adrenaline.
They’ve made a perfect single for the summer time.
“Jumprope”
jumps right in with some frenetic strumming guitar, and a simple and warming
keyboard line that evokes the Brittle Stars comparison, and then Maria Garnica’s breathy vocals (reminding
of Arrogrants’ Jana Heller) come
along tying the proceedings together magically.
It isn’t until the absolutely dreamy chorus – a repeated series of “ahs”
and “uh-huhs” – that the song goes to the stratospheric. It’s a compact and perfect song to hum on a
beautiful stroll in the sunshine. I’m
not sure what’s going on inside the wall of noise that is the fast “Summer
Cramps,” but it’s enticing. The songs
stumbles forward at a rapid pace and there’s so much going on with the layers
of sounds (it almost sounds like a horn section buried deep underneath the
guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals), but the clarity of the straight
forward keyboard melody ties the song together to give it a memorable quality
beyond the fun urgency of the performance.
The B-side
opens with another quick burner in “Better Hearts.” Garnica punctuates every short line of each
verse with a “you don’t know me” line that will get stuck in your head, while
guitarists Matt Richards and Colin O’Neill weave together
surprisingly intricate intertwining melodies together. This song is where drummer Brian Alvarez and bassist Kevin Doxsey really shine. Alvarez’s stunning rapid fire drum rolls,
punctuated tightly by Doxsey’s rolling bass grand throughout the song are
amazing! Again, there’s a lot going on
in the mix, but its fun to focus on the many different sounds coming out of
these five players. The closing “Set
You Off” comes on like an airy breeze, or a long relaxing exhale. Garmica’s cooing vocals perfectly match with
her keyboard atmospherics and the jangly guitars.
What an
excellent introduction! I sure hope that
there’s more music to come - maybe for next summer?
Gingerlys "Jumprope"
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