La Sera La Sera (Hardly Art)
4/5
By: Liane Escorza
Katy Goodman from Vivian Girls returns with a new outfit, La Sera, through which she indulges further in the quieter of the musical trademarks she favours – sensual vocals, poppy carefree melodies and dreamlike waves of sound.
Softer, shinier and less aggressive than with her other band, Goodman has here polished her act by employing layers upon layers of celestial voices to gently dazzling effect. She still clings to her signature D.I.Y. style, combining crystalline fragility with bare distorted sounds, yet she’s managed to gently eke out a syrupy essence from the core.
Approach La Sera like beekeepers do their hobby, as it takes a bit of practice and effort before one gets to the golden, heavenly prize here. The second half of this debut solo record gleams like nectar – her seemingly inherent twee-ness, wrapped in an elegant 1960s style, breezes past in ‘I Promise You’, while ‘Devil’s Hearts Grow Gold’ and ‘Been Here Before’ shimmer with darker reflections. Elsewhere, ‘Hold’ is a tease in its mood, a more introverted song that comes on like the changing weather in a British summer’s day.
It’s the length of the tracks (all rather fleeting) that makes La Sera an easy and thoroughly pleasant record to spend time with. Even when this kind of brevity could lead to a lack of overall shape or feeling of the album, Goodman has managed to bring out the charm in such a fading and evasive form.
Devils Hearts Grow Gold by La Sera by goincase
Artists in this article: La Sera
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment