Gaze. Mitsumeru.

I think this was the first album I brought home where my girlfriend started to accuse me of listening to "girly" music. Which, while true, isn't entirely accurate for this band. They were an all-girl group on K Records and featured indie-pop legend Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Go Sailor, The Softies), so it would be natural to assign them to the cuddle-core camp at first glance. In actuality, Rose hangs out in the background on drums, leaving Miko Hoffman and Megan Mallett room to eschew her usual "softy-ness" for a more sinewy, punk affected sound.

To my ears, this is just a perfect distillation of the pop music form, with witty, acerbic lyrics overtop of bouncy beats, sing-song choruses, and jangling rhythms. Miko has a distinctively conversational voice, and her matter-of-fact delivery turns many of the songs into little short-stories of relationships gone bad, confronting misogynists and homophobes, or just enthusiastically telling someone to kiss off. In fact, many of their songs sound as if they're stalking prey, and they rarely miss their target. This is whip-smart, emotionally mature music that will still make you want to bop.

Mitsumeru

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