Hailing from New Jersey, the indie pop outfit Lightheaded has a new LP, Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming hitting stores on June 27. The same day finds Massachusetts-based indie pop act Jeanines unveiling a fresh LP of their own, How Long Can It Last, and don’tcha just know it, the Lightheaded and Jeanines albums are being released by Slumberland in North America and by Skep Wax in the UK and EU. Both records are a delight. There is a tandem record release show in Brooklyn, NY at Trans-Pecos on June 27 and then the groups vault the big pond as tourmates for a run of UK shows in the second half of July.
There are photos of Lightheaded that include three, four, and five people, but the core of the group is founders Cynthia Rittenbach on bass and vocals and Stephen Stec on guitar. Active since 2017, the drummers, additional guitarists, and backing singers have spun through a revolving door as they debuted with the cassette Cowboys and Constellations in 2019.
Next came the 5-song cassette EP “Good Good Great!” in 2023, followed quickly with the full-length Combustible Gems, their first on vinyl, last year. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming offers five new songs on side one and adds the five songs from the “Good Good Great!” tape on the flip. The new stuff was cut with either Gary Olson (of The Ladybug Transistor) or Alicia Vanden Heuvel (of The Aislers Set and Poundsign) in the studio, and with Fred Thomas (of Saturday Looks Good to Me) mixing the songs for release.
Knowledge of Olson’s, Vanden Heuvel’s, and Thomas’ work should give Lightheaded newbies more than a hint into what’s happening on Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming. The songs are lush but not too polished, with rich depth of instrumentation, as opener “Same Drop” includes keyboards, strings, and bursts of trumpet.
“Me and Amelia Fletcher,” likely to be many listeners’ favorite of the new tracks, offers a foundational toughness that broadens Lightheaded’s appeal, as does the clear influence of 1960s song styling throughout, but in particular on side one’s closer “Crash Landing of the Clod.” The impact of ’60s pop-rock classique is still apparent across side two, and obviously so with the nifty cover of “Patti Girl” by Gary and the Hornets. These songs of slightly earlier vintage aren’t quite as lavish as the new stuff, but that’s cool, as it’s all clearly radiating out from the same core, documenting sweet progression.
Jeanines are also built on a core duo, in this case Alicia Jeanine on vocals, guitar, bass, and violin, and Jed Smith on guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Live show bassist Maggie Gaster solidifies a trio for the recording of How Long Can It Last, their third full-length after a self-titled debut in 2019 and Don’t Wait for a Sign in 2022.
This new one is a 13-song set with only two selections that break two minutes. Jeanines don’t unnecessarily linger, which adds to the music’s sweet ache. There’s a directness to the lead voicings that could result in a twee assessment, but that’s seriously off target, as a sometimes stressed or troubled quality to the singing brings a beautiful edge. Together with a dark undercurrent, there’s an occasional affinity with loner folk, though the general energy and rhythmic drive do strengthen the indie pop foundation, hitting an apex in this regard with “On and On.”
If a few of these Jeanines’ numbers resonate like they could’ve been recorded by Joe Boyd in a barn on a spring morning in 1971, “You Can’t Get It Back” is reminiscent of something Joe Meek might’ve had his mighty mitts on. Bygone eras having impacted Jeanines is no surprise. That the music stands out in such a deep contemporary indie pop field is impressive. How Long Can It Last is a record to savor with repeated play, a total gem.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Lightheaded, Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming
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Jeanines, How Long Can It Last
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