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Aug 18, 2023 Web Exclusive By Mark Moody

Jersey City based singer/songwriter PYNKIE (aka Lindsey Radice) goes her own way on her third full length LP, Songies. Her previous, and equally fine, album, #37, was released on Fat Possum imprint, House Arrest back in 2020. An artist known more for her deeply revered demo recordings, here Radice displays a penchant for more polished and dreamy pop aided by her own lushly layered vocals and fail safe hooks.

Whether musing on her own childhood insecurities (“Crushed Out”) or expressing concern for a wayward friend (album highlight, “Spiral”), Radice pulls from real life experiences with an eye for the imaginative. With an average running time well under three minutes, Songies’ dozen tracks flash by in a cloud of confectioner’s sugar cut with real world concerns. The brief opener, “Time_60bpm,” intersperses the tick of a clock with simple acoustic guitar chords and Radice’s nearly whispered old school concerns—waiting for the phone to ring as the seconds tick by.

Though Songies bears no weak tracks, unlike most of today’s releases, the album is back end loaded with the songs becoming more layered and ponderable as they go. Four songs in, Radice shares a lazily paced and demo quality duet with april june in “Scared,” but shortly thereafter the album unfurls in a half dozen near perfect songs that glide effortlessly to the finish. “Both Sides,” which evidences some of Radice’s finest recorded vocals (both in lead and in her own harmonies), has a ’70s soft rock feel over a simple bossa nova beat. Seemingly light, the song is deceptively sturdy with gentle builds of verses and choruses stitched together by nearly wordless ooh’s and coos.

A fan of theoretical physics (aren’t we all), Radice also proves prescient on the Liz Phair flavored “Veil.” The brief interlude seems to predict the downfall of Twitter (or X these days) and other social media—“the internet is getting boring,” she intones in a subtle takedown. “Veil” gives way to the loveliest of lovelies in the deeply empathetic “Spiral.” Understated tape loops and meandering keyboard runs courtesy of John Messina, provide the gentle propulsion that take “Spiral” to its low-key heights. “PLZ” provides Songies’ fastest paced moment and is followed by the loose folkiness of the penultimate track, “Be Good,” which sports the album’s most infectious chorus.

For an artist already steeped in DIY sensibilities, Radice’s focus and work ethic in taking things up a notch production and composition wise are apparent. The album’s title may feel off-handed and the feather light touch of many of the album’s songs may make it seem like little effort was required to put forth this glinting gem of an album. But from her demos (which she regularly shares with fans) on up, it’s clear that Radice puts thought into her development as a constructor of songs and bringer of joyful noises. (www.pynkie.co)

Author rating: 7.5/10