With their first album, Iluminación Espiritual, released this past week Sister Cities is ready to take over the world, or at least, the Phoenix Metro Area. Their temperate garage pop sounds crisp with a uniquely cohesive musicality for such a young group.
When I first heard the band’s song “White Dress” for YabYumMusic’s Summer Song Contest (which, by the way, they won) I was surprised by the extent of Sister Cities sound of place. Not, as one might expect, a desert sound. Instead, they have a distinctly Brit-Pop quality that only growing up in Glasgow seems to provide. The group’s lighthearted, mid-tempo pop style is reminiscent of mid ‘60s radio classics like the Beach Boys.
Sister Cities’ early recordings, although certainly not Mod Podged together, lack the cohesion and uniqueness that make their latest releases really shine.
The lacking luminosity caught fire with the addition of Ana Barraza, the band’s keyboardist originally from Mexico City who met group members Courtney Robinson and Brett Davis in Rocky Point. Ana’s Euro-pop style has completely distorted my sense of musical geography,
The vocals provided by Courtney (drummer) and Brett (guitarist) sound straight out of America – and, this time, I mean it in a good way. Both reject, by accident or design, the faint, almost frail vocal direction of many a Glasgow band has opted for, i.e. Camera Obscura, Travis, etc. Instead, Courtney charges bravely into songs with strength, spirit, and the slight and occasional Karen O vocal grind. Brett, on the other hand, might be Boy-Band material were it not for the hipster in his soul and lyrics.
Courtney as drummer holds the group together with her thoughtfully understated yet compelling rhythm. A particular triple thump from Courtney and you know just a moment before it happens that Sister Cities is about to burst simultaneously into “White Dress,” a YabYum favorite, or a curt rap means “We Don’t” is on the way. Spike Brendle completes the rhythm section on bass.
Catch these kids before the national scene catches on…
