Bachelorette : My Electric Family

Anyone heard this. Out on Drag City. Last one was very excellent.

yeah, i love this -- this was the first I'd heard of her, though. Lots of cool sounds/songs here.

i've only heard the previous one, which is pretty good. surprised to see this on drag city.

Have you heard her first EP, The End Of Things, Jim? Think it'd be right up yr alley.

I'm a big fan. The heavy, uh, Jungian influence on the lyrics is out of left field. Love the groove on "Her Rotating Head", was fantastic live.

that's the one i've heard! so there's another album as well?

Debut album = Isolation Loops. Hmmn, up on her Myspace, there's three tracks from it. Ooh, "I Want To Be Your Girlfriend" is up; non-album track that's probably her poppiest number.

what's the live show like? she's playing my neck of the woods this month ...

The live's show's good, from the one time I've seen her w/the band - it includes the pretty superlative Evelyn Morris/Pikelet; way less awkward than she was solo.

this album is fantastic. why isn't this the biggest thing ever?

seriously -- one of the top five records I've heard this year ... way better than a lot of more hyped records out there.

since the outlet i wrote it for doesn't seem to be in a hurry to publish it, here's my review:

The opening number of Bachelorette’s My Electric Family, “Instructions for Insomniacs,” is a little misleading. There’s a plucky acoustic guitar figure repeating pleasantly, and Annabel Alper’s pretty, sighing voice, suggesting that you “Daydream … make sure it’s good stuff.” Ah, you think, another tuneful, folky singer-songwriter. But about a minute and a half in, a multi-tracked backing vocal kicks in, with electronic gurgles and big, booming drums kicking the song unexpectedly into the stratosphere. It’s glorious.

Under the Bachelorette moniker, the New Zealand-based Alpers has released an EP and a full-length to little acclaim, but if there’s any justice in the world, My Electric Family (her Drag City debut), will push her into the spotlight. There are plenty of critical touchstones to mention: Kraftwerk, Syd Barrett, Laurie Anderson, The Beach Boys – there’s even a moment on “The National Grid” where her phrasing is uncannily Bjork-esque. But Alpers is much more than the sum of her influences. Like the curious, beguiling collages that adorn the cover of My Electric Family, she’s pieced together an album that is both all over the place, but strangely cohesive. Every sonic move she makes here has a sort of implicit logic and ease to it – no mean feat for such a young artist.

The pleasures here are countless: The rubbery disco of “Mindwarp;” the oddly touching Kraftwerk tribute “Technology Boy;” the sad stasis of “Where To Begin.” Throughout these 11 tracks, Alpers’ electric family of analog synths, stacked vocal harmonies and psychedelic-skewing melodies are a delight.

i think i hear more Beatles than Beach Boys, but nice review! just bought this on vinyl--really sounds great, great mastering.

yeah, dunno why more people aren't talking about this record, seems like it'd be right up ILM's alley in a lot of ways.

forgot about this, will pass the rest of the work day with

I like this a lot. Very elegant and layered. Haven't quite got my head around the third track "Mindwarp" yet. Whats with those drums and the 'funk' guitar in the background. It makes me feel uneasy.

Wow. This is fucking great. It definitely deserves more talk etc. It also belongs in the massive doobage thread.

"long time gone" is a jam. whole album reminds me, maybe because it's on drag city, of a warmer early broadcast

for me it's all about the one-two punch of "Mindwarp" and "Her Rotating Head". brilliant.

How was the live show/crowd response in the US, Tyler?

urgh, i didn't make it down to the show, which i regret ... the place she was playing is notorious for ultra-late shows and it was a weeknight ... and I am lame.

New 7" on Drag City, Do The Circuit/I Want To Be Your Girlfriend.

The former's something that I've seen her play live but apparently didn't fit on the album; latter's a similar case from her previous, though it was released on CD compilation w/NZ music mag Real Groove. Looking forward to it!

i've been hearing her stuff in ads on local tv recently..

Ha, advertising what?

don't 100% recall but i'm thinking car ad

yeah, or a phone or something

a nokia phone!

i'll say it again -- one of the best records of 2009! IMO.

"Do The Circuit" is sublime.

She kind've preempted the whole School of Seven Bells thing, didn't she? Perhaps a bit too boffin/Derbyshire-y to bliss out as much, but ...