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Jun 30, 2014 Issue #50 - June/July 2014 - Future Islands By Austin Trunick

The early ‘90s were a golden age for female-fronted guitar pop bands. Groups like The Blake Babies, that dog, Velocity Girl, or The Darling Buds weren’t doing anything as advanced or far-out as what artists like P.J. Harvey, The Breeders, or Liz Phair were up to roundabout the same time, but they filled a need for sunny alternative pop centered on warm, feminine vocals. There’ve been so many incredible female-led bands in the years since, but there’s a fuzzy nostalgia for that short-lived ‘90-‘95 period that’s still rarely scratched by modern groups—and that’s why the brand new Beverly feels like such a treat.

“New” may not be the best way to describe them, as the musicians behind this band are tenured vets: Beverly is a team-up of Frankie Rose and Drew Citron (of Avan Lava, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s current live lineup, and Rose’s touring band). Citron’s the primary songwriter in this duo, and she has a killer knack for head-bobbing melodies: the lead single “Honey Do” is as delightfully sugary as its title suggests, while Rose and Citron’s harmonized chorus-overtop a low, fuzzed-out guitar growl-in opener “Madora” makes you think immediately of Pixies’ “Gigantic.” The points where Careers trips up are when they try to slow things down: the whispered coos of “Yale’s Life” make the song sound like the Julee Cruise-esque dreampop knockoffs so many lesser bands have attempted in recent years, and doesn’t fare any better. Still-stumbles aside-you could hardly ask for a better summertime LP. (www.thatssobever.ly)

Author rating: 6/10