Hour of the Dawn
La Sera’s Katy Goodman has taken the girl-group pop of her previous work and put it in the hands of guitarist/producer Tod Wisenbaker, who immediately strips away the gratuitous reverb to give the songs a tougher edge. It’s necessary, since how better to tell off a former lover than building an aggressive rocker around Goodman’s unforgiving lyrics, as with “Losing to the Dark”? The opening track\'s bravado leads to the more reflective “Summer of Love,” with its optimistic-sounding melody and clean, trebly guitar lines. Anger returns on “Running Wild,” where amped-up emotions suggest Goodman’s been listening closely to Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go’s and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. The ups and downs continue with garage pop that sounds like innocence and happy times, despite the ambivalence of the lyrics. “Fall in Place” and the title track ache with a nostalgic feel that recalls summers past. “Control” throws more new wave guitars into the mix. By “Storm’s End,” Goodman is out of words and lets the surf instrumental send her off to sea, along with some “oohs” and “ahhs.”
On the third La Sera album, Katy Goodman, former bassist for the now-defunct Vivian Girls, finds the right balance of joy and heartbreak. An album that could be sad based on the lyric sheet is stuffed with delirious fret runs, muscular drum fills, and sunny guitars soaked with reverb.
The Vivian Girls' singer returns with perhaps the summer’s most blissfully enjoyable indie pop record.
Cult noise-pop act Vivian Girls might have broken up this past January, but fans of the expired Brooklyn band have plenty of spin-offs to sink their teeth into.