the LUNA music word 'em up: La Sera

One of my favorite things as a music writer is sitting down with a record without any expectation and being completely blown away. So many albums come to us today with pre-existing hype that puts a burden on both the artist and the listener, making it hard to know if one's reaction to the music is based on a record's merit, or the context that has been constructed around it. Whether it is Kanye West, Radiohead or Arcade Fire, or even lesser-known, but much-hyped, indie bands like Best Coast, Sleigh Bells or James Blake, one ends up being forced to process the context as much as the music itself. Maybe this is not true for casual listeners, but for those of us who live and breath music, it is impossible to avoid. At times I dread getting a copy of a big ticket album, if only because during both the listening and review process I'm going to have to filter it through the hype and cultural context that exists via music sites like Pitchfork, Stereogum, and the blogosphere in general. Listening to such albums has almost become a chore. It is only well after I finish my review and the frenzy surrounding these kind of releases dissipates that I can really enjoy a record for what it is, if at all. What is missing from that experience is the pure joy of just listening to music and discovering a really great album as a personal experience, rather than a shared cultural event. So it's those moments when a record comes to me without hype, without expectation, and manages to take me by surprise and rock my world that I am reminded why I love music so damn much, and why I spend hours writing about it rather than catching up on all of those Anthony Bourdain episodes that are clogging up my DVR. In case you haven't figured it out already, La Sera is one of those albums.

La Sera is the solo project of the Vivian Girl's Katy Goodman. Now, in the interest of fairness and full-disclosure, I have made no secret about my love of indie-rock bands fronted by women, or my love for the Vivian Girls. It should also be admitted that I have a thing for redheads. Having said that, I honestly put this record on without any expectations one way or the other. More than anything I simply wanted to see what Goodman was up to during her off-hours. What quickly became apparent was that she was making music that was just as wonderful as the Vivian Girls, even though the two bare little resemblance to each other. Goodman eschews the taut punk/garage of her primary band for a dreamier hazier sound that has more in common with shoegaze and dream pop than punk or garage, although garage certainly lurks at the edges.

Goodman wrote the songs for La Sera while staying at her parent's home in New Jersey for a couple of weeks when the Vivian Girls were on break. She has said that she wrote the pieces at night during the winter, which might explain the album's cocooned blanket-like feel. Once the tracks were written, Goodman's friend Brady Hall fleshed-out her compositions with instrumentation that perfectly compliments Katy's vocals. If you have ever heard Goodman sing while warming up for a Vivian Girls' show, you know that she has an incredibly ethereal voice. I would say it's the voice of an angel, but that would be too cliche. Let's just say it's gorgeous. The fact that voice infuses every track here, alone and multi-tracked for the album's harmonies, makes this record worth the price of admission alone.

The lush beauty of Goodman's voice is immediately apparent on the stunning album opener "Beating Heart." The track has a stately melancholy that calls to mind a classic 4AD piece. Goodman's vocals float lazily, but beautifully, in the haze above the sleepy pulse of the song, making for the musical equivalent of opium. "Never Come Around" follows and bursts out of the speakers like exploding fireworks. It is nearly the opposite of what came before in terms of mood and style. It is as lush as "Beating Heart," but upbeat and expansive. Throughout the album Goodman explores variations of light and dark in-between the extremes of "Beating Heart" and "Never Come Around," making music that balances melody and harmony perfectly. Each track is drenched in atmosphere, yet baited with hooks aplenty to make for some of the most addictive dream pop I've heard.

There are too many highlights to list here, but the gothic-western "I Promise You," the fit for a Wes Anderson film "Left This World," and the Galaxie 500 with more melody "Hold" are immediate favorites, as are the head-nodding "Devils Hearts Grow Tired" and the oceanic "Dove Into Love." The thing is, there is not a bad song here; not one piece that does not have something to love. It's one of those rare little albums that isn't about the promise of something bigger and better, because it is perfect as it is, even if what it is, is a small musical offering made without pretense or expectation.

"Devils Hearts Grow Tired"

La Sera - Devils Hearts Grow Gold from Hardly Art on Vimeo.