Opposites attract. We all know that. And they do so brilliantly throughout RESET, the debut E.P. from Afternoon Sister. More specifically, it’s the juxtaposition of guitar textures – an understated acoustic, a chiming lead line, scything, alt-rock deluges and twangy 50s resonance pushed into overdrive – that creates this intriguing ebb-and-flow and evocative dynamic, as laid out by the opening instrumental, ‘Don’t Cross Yer Fingers.’
It’s a beguiling sound even before Alice Ventura adds her vocals, which she does with ‘Ache’, weaving through another dreamlike, deeply embedded, textural layer with these heady blends of lyrical communication and voice-as-instrument delicacy.
‘Night Drive’ shows that she can do lilting, poised alt-pop – if many artists find their way to a dream pop sound by boiling down the emotive essence of shoegaze or more cinematic alt-rock, this is the sound of a band getting there by starting at the pop end of things and adding just enough intrigue and contagion and drift and floating ethereality to an existing accessibility. The title track is as much a feeling as a song: sweet, serene, sensual, seductive and ‘I Guess It Is Goodbye’ is a song of few words, but armed with only the title and the sonic emotions of the song, the palpable feeling of loss and longing, nothing else needs to be said.
As debuts go, that combination of calling card, mission statement, first impression, and head-above-the-parapet moment, Afternoon Sister doesn’t put a foot wrong.
Website
Facebook
Soundcloud
Bandcamp
Instagram
