It’s pretty hard to believe that at one point Elizabeth Harper was a folk singer. Her debut LP as the leader of Brooklyn’s Class Actress is so thoroughly based in electronics that one could never guess that until recently she was plucking a six string. While chillwave will be the most commonly used descriptor for Class Actress’ music the band has deemed it ‘playboy pop’, a more fitting label for the dark, sophisticated slow jams that inhabit Rapprocher.
Harper has made it a point to create a persona to go along with her new sound, and the inner diva comes out quite nicely over the course of the album. If there is a constant it is her voice, which soars above a foundation of vintage synths and drum machines. Whether she’s completely taking over a song like "Love Me Like You Used To", or applying a more ethereal touch like she does with "Limousine" or "All the Saints", she is clearly in command and the main attraction. Lyrically it’s all about rocky or failed relationships, Harper offers up words that seem to be fueled by her alter ego’s overt sensuality, “The way you pull my hair, the way you hold my neck, the way you throw me down, on the bed. Against the wall, hands on my waist, I can hardly breathe, I can hardly wait.”
Rapprocher is French for ‘to beckon’, and that is exactly what this music does, it’s sultry if nothing else, primarily because of Harper’s performance, but Mark Richardson ably complements her with some painstakingly constructed synth-pop. He’s most successful on tracks like "Bienvenue" and "Prove Me Wrong", great slices of nostalgia that go over as well today as they would’ve 20+ years ago.
While this is a catchy bunch of songs it’s also important to note that Class Actress’ contemporaries are numerous. Small Black or the Knife could’ve made these beats, and it could easily be Ida No of Glass Candy or Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne behind the mic.
Nostalgic electro pop built with a 4 on the floor beat is fairly standard material in this day and age, so just how long can one listen to it? Luckily Elizabeth Harper does a wonderful job of eliminating concerns over any lack of adventurousness in Class Actress’ music. She’s clearly embodied this new persona she’s created for herself, sounding confident and in command of her realm. All she needs is for her supporting cast to share in that confidence and they will truly be in a class all their own.
Grade: B
Weekend by Class Actress
~ Steve Dobek
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