Puro Instinct
Autodrama
Reviewed by: Lauren Rosier
The second release from sister duo, Piper and Skylar Kaplan, is a collection of fresh pop-infused sounds, while still maintaining their weirdness from their debut, Headbangers in Ecstasy.
The Kaplan sisters grew up on weed and the LA punk scene; drinking, and hanging out with ‘80s icons like Christian Death. With Autodrama, the sisters create music that’s reminiscent of their native California: very hazy and beachy. It’s full of psychedelic characteristics, while incorporating certain elements of dream pop into their sound as well.
While their debut incorporated a weirdness similar to the sisters’ friend and collaborator, Ariel Pink, their sophomore effort assimilates a more pop-infused sound, as featured by their release of the Madonna cover, “What You See,” earlier this month.
The opening track, “Panarchy,” still features the weirdness of the duo’s sound on their debut: unconventional, trippy, featuring a loop of “No stars in the sky tonight to guide me to the morning light,” and in which you can hear the influence of Ariel Pink’s unconventional, off-the-wall musical stylings.
One of the album’s singles, “Peccavi,” [Latin for ‘I have sinned’] is a pop-infused track filled with danceable drum beats and gorgeous, flowing instrumentation.
“What You See” is the Madonna cover that the duo released earlier this month. It’s a three-minute journey with a trippy, psychedelic vibe with the lyrics “what you see / is what you get” on repeat with breathy vocals and crazy instrumentation. For someone who had never heard this song before, it sounds like it could be the duo’s own. It fits well into the 10-song set and they make it their own.
The dark, haunting vibe of “End of An Era” with its drum beats and dark lyrics about “twelve dead Americans” that were “stuffed into body bags” add the weirdness from the duo’s debut. It’s definitely one of the most haunting and darkest songs on the record, but seemed to evoke emotion, and stick out for me during the thousand of listening sessions with this record.
Honestly, this record is another gem amongst indie pop and its sub-genres. The Kaplan sisters created a truly special collection of songs with Autodrama.
Rating: Bad-Ass
