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Cliff's Subjective Field Guide to the Glut of Girl/Boy Duos



Let's face it, there's a terrific glut of girl/boy duos all of a sudden. They are everywhere. It's the Captain & Tenielle/Carpenters/Sonny & Cher Syndrome run a muck, and the funny thing is... they're all good, and there's something for everybody (except for maybe the Juggalos):

Sleigh Bells. Exploded out of Brooklyn and on to the scene with their raw noise pop in 2010 with Treats and expanded their sound on their sophomore album Reign of Terror. Their show this last Saturday was high on my list because I really want to see stuff from Treats live and feel Derek Miller's guitar in my guts, and the show did not disappoint as it utterly melted my face. Alexis Krauss is also good people.




Class Actress. I had to add Class Actress to the guide because of their hair raising show Saturday night opening for Sleigh Bells as I was totally blown away by their Appolonia 6/Vanity 6/Sheena Easton vibe. Indeed, now that Prince has eschewed the sexier and nastier songs in his catalogue, it was very gratifying to see somebody playing in that sandbox. Today's pop music might have lots of sex, but it isn't necessarily sexy. Class Actress is sexy.




The Civil Wars. This duo consisting of California native and Nashville transplant Joy Williams and Alabaman John Paul White mixes up the whole paradigm in a variety of ways: theirs is a pure backcountry Americana; the dude's sings as much as the lass; they are intensely minimalist and gritty as hell.







Memoryhouse. This mixed media dreamwave act from Toronto faced a different problem: having to follow up an ethereal and magnificent 5 song EP with a more substantial debut LP. The results was , which featured Denise Nouvion and Evan Abeele broadening their sound with a few uptempo songs that retained the dreamy haze that made The Years so enjoyable. I also enjoyed their show at Soundlab last October, a swell evening of tastefully curated visuals and potent yet very dreamy dream pop. I still think they're a band to watch.




Tennis. This husband and wife duo from Denver turned heads with the clear and sunny indie pop of their 2011 debut Cape Dory and showed that they were no joke with their bottom heavy and tasty Pat Carney produced 2012 follow up Young and Old. For some reason Alaina Moore reminds me of Celine Dion, but in a good way, and both albums are impeccable summer records, even in the dead of winter.







Cults. The best French band to ever come out of America. Madeline Follin is a goddess. They've played Buffalo three times in about a year and we've seen them grow as a band and we've seen their live show develop into the wonderful pop art freakout we saw at the Town Ballroom in April. We know all about Cults, and I for one can't wait for the next album.


Best Coast. I'll never forget the first time I heard Best Coast. The song was "The Sun Was High (And So Was I)" and it made me dance like the red suited dwarf in Twin Peaks. The gorgeously hazy lo-fi guitars and dreamy, plaintive vocals of Bethany Cossentino owned me from that point forward. Whether it's channeling a Spectoresque vibe on their debut Crazy For You or Brian Wilson on their Jon Brion produced follow up The Only Place, Best Coast is the sound of Southern California.




Beach House. After the release of their fourth album Bloom in May, the world is Beach House's oyster. Indeed for my part, their dream pop is the best: a perfect melange of tight songwriting, Alex Scale's Lindsey Buckinghamesque guitar virtuosity, and Victoria Legrand's ethereal yet dynamic vocals and organ. Beach House burst onto my radar in 2010 with Teen Dream, an album whose magic I thought they couldn't possibly recapture, but on Bloom, not only did Beach House recapture that magic, they expanded on it. It should also be said that Beach House is magnificent live. The world IS Beach House's oyster, and deservedly and justifiably so.





Cliff Parks

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