When not punching bass riffs in the girl-punk group Vivian Girls, songwriter Katy Goodman explores her tamer side in a dream-pop alter-ego akin to the sound of a ’60s band in matching bell bottoms. La Sera’s two-song Devils Hearts Grow Gold EP charms from the start, with lilting harmonies amidst bright popping guitar riffs. It’s retro to the extreme, as Goodman puts the focus on simple vocal numbers and straightforward riffs and rhythms. In addition, La Sera’s sound could partly be attributed to the producing, which captures that ethereal echoing and raw sound that fills both tracks (not to say the band itself doesn’t do its part).
The first of the two tracks, “Devils Hearts Grow Gold,” lightly punches a bass line over bright vocals and a soft drum beat. A carousel-like guitar part makes for a cool layer in the track as the whole song evokes a type of jovial innocence. The final song, a cover of The 5 Royales “Dedicated To The One I Love,” has a classic slow-dance vibe; the kind that might be played in one of those soda-shop jukeboxes in the ’60s.
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The two-song EP is unique in its effort, but nothing more than pleasant. Little is jaw-dropping, but for what it is La Sera embodies much of the classic pop sound and shows eloquence in songwriting.
(Hardly Art, PO Box 2007, Seattle, WA 98111)