Vivian Girls sideprojects seem to be ruling the net nowadays - you can't type "w" three times without hitting one. Vivian Girls...hm...let's talk about this, shall we? The band forms in 2007 to the raves of college music fans all across Brooklyn and some of the other places where lesser humans receive transmissions in "hipster." Two albums and one drummer later, we must assume that the Vivian Girls' creative output is simply not enough for these overacheiving ladies, because that creativity springs a ship-capsizing leak into other bands last year. Original drummer, Frankie Rose, pokes her head out of the scene like an ethereal bang-coiffed groundhog, and casts a jangly springtime shadow in the form of new band Frankie Rose and the Outs. Meanwhile, replacement drummer, Ali Koehler leaves for the pacific pastures of Best Coast. Not to be outdone, however, still-active members Cassie Ramone and Katy Goodman use their free time to record offerings by bands called The Babies and today's Daily Bomb, La Sera, respectively. All this while awaiting the release of Vivian Girls' third hotly anticipated album.
Honestly, Vivian Girls I can take or leave. I feel like they have a solid place at the forefront of lo-fi girl-group-loving return to simple pop that has been trucking along for the last couple of years, but I never really felt terribly connected to their musical output. On the other hand, I feel that these spin-off bands are pushing a few more buttons and expanding the style of the individual members of the band. As such, I'm curious about how this will effect the upcoming Vivian Girls release. Positively, I have to imagine.
But, the nucleus of these side projects aside, both The Babies and La Sera have released some really pleasing singles in 2010 and early 2011. Of the two, La Sera seems to have kept a little more of the bricks and mortar of the Vivian Girls structure, but somehow come off softer, cleaner, and sweeter. The fuzz of the Vivian Girls has cleared away like a fog to reveal something altogether prettier, yet more solid at the same time.
Next week, La Sera's single "Devils Hearts Grow Gold" will be released on Hardly Art in a limited 7"in advance of a full length that will ship in February. Both "Devils..." and the previous single, "Never Come Around" bode well for what's to come from Ms. Katy and crew.
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