Go Sailor

For a brief window in the mid-'90s, made just about an album's worth of songs that brought together wistfully romantic sentiments with nervy, energetic playing that lived on the border of twee pop and punk rock. Fresh off her run with , guitarist/vocalist/songwriter joined forces with drummer (and future founder) and former bassist . Between 1994 and 1996, the trio recorded three 7" EPs and a few miscellaneous tracks, all of which were compiled on this self-titled collection. This more-or-less complete picture of 's output lasts for just over half an hour, with 14 concise songs that feel straightforward yet are deceptively intricate. The majority of the tracks stick to speedy tempos and high-impact performances, with only one song lasting more than three minutes. The magic of is how much they accomplish with this direct approach, and how 's distinctive gift for bittersweet melodies fits into the picture. "Last Year" comes on like nostalgic two-chord twee pop, but the band zooms through the two-minutes-and-change song so fast that it's hard to catch the tender group harmonies, uncharacteristically airy chord voicings, and achingly sincere lyrical pictures on first listen. "Bigger Than an Ocean" is as close to a slow song as the band gets, but it still flies by as it incorporates uncommon chord changes and soft double-tracked vocals into its jangly arrangement. Later on in the collection, more immediate pop hooks come through on tracks like "Ray of Sunshine" and the jaunty "Together Forever in Love." All three members of continued evolving long after the band's short existence, but the sound they achieved in such a fleeting lifespan helped define an entire movement of indie rock. It's impossible to imagine , , or any of the better bands from the late-2000s wave of melodic indie rock sounding like they did without the framework quietly put into place with their 7"s and comp tracks. Though they weren't the only group making this kind of bustling yet emotionally deep, punk-informed indie pop in the mid-'90s, were one of the more overlooked, and listening back to this collection is a reminder that ironically, they were also one of the best. ~ Fred Thomas