La Sera

In the interim between their last LP and the upcoming release of Share the Joy, the ladies in Vivian Girls have been busy. Cassie Ramone formed the Babies, while Kickball Katy Goodman started All Saints Day with Greg Foreman from Cat Power. Now, she's struck out on her own entirely. Goodman doesn't stray far from her day job though, parsing down Vivian Girls' sound into its most basic, cleaned up elements. Experimenting with walls of vocals, Goodman recreates hooky '50s pop through a lo-fi indie lens. But this is hardly a retro-throwback album. Tracks like "Never Come Around" certainly hit on the big drum sound and heavy bottom end used by everyone from the Beach Boys to Best Coast. But Goodman's knack for the era's melodies and not its production style are what make La Sera such an enjoyable record and she's careful not to repeat the same tropes in each song. At times, her thin voice is in danger of being swallowed by the drums and guitars, and things do lag a bit towards the end. La Sera aren't going to overshadow Goodman's day job, but her solo debut is strong enough to stand on its own outside the Vivian Girls' umbrella.