This latest unearthing from the always-digging Concentric Circles label caught me sideways - the opening paragraph in the press release introduces Susanne Lewis as a former member of both Corpses As Bedmates and Thinking Plague, which in absolutely no way prepared me for the 30 minutes of beguiling melodicism that followed. Those other bands are invariably great and interesting, but certainly not what I’d connect to the sing-song intuition, lo-fi idiosyncrasies and strum n thrum gleam of Self-Titled. Lewis’ range is only to her immense credit, and what might prove a more fitting comparison is the coiled-up and inventive energy of Barbara Manning and the surrounding configurations of the legendary 28th Day and World of Pooh. Indiepop, almost, because it’s invariably independently minded and most certainly pop-conditioned, but quite a little bit more in the mix than such genre codification might suggest. These are highly interesting songs, moving around in deceptively simple ways that always privilege Lewis’ voice but also do sweet things with the guitar that might even suggest she’s listened to a few Stephen Malkmus records over the years (and why not - they’re often good ones). I was surprised to learn this originally landed in 2000, as it mostly feels a little older than that, wedded to the late 80/early 90s US underground of outsider (anti-)pop expressionism. But who cares, really? 1988? 2000? 2026? Tunes are tunes, and Lewis has her own little goldmine of them.
FFO: 28th Day, Barbara Manning, The Spatulas, World of Pooh
