Lasorda – Lasorda

The Kids Are Alright

It seems our youth has resurrected in a smartphone and tablet world, with Coachella-friendly tunes by Warped Tour-era musicians. With members from The Get Up Kids, The New Amsterdams and Kevin Devine’s band, Lasorda delivers sexy synthpop your now thirtysomething self can vibe to. Lasorda’s self-titled debut album is two parts ‘every talented musician from when you were in high school’ and one part Drive: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

“Age of Wonder” features Suzannah Johannes soft, sweet voice over what sounds like a stripped down “Intro” by The xx. In its own right, this song is both fun and “vibey” like any other dance-y indie track out there. These veterans of emo are treading new territory, but aren’t doing half-bad.

“Fivefivefourtwo” features the same tight musicianship heard in Matt Pryor’s previous groups. While most synthpop musicians rely heavily on tricky production and heavy digital and analog effects, Lasorda takes a page out of Metric’s book, mixing well-executed live instrumentation while going light on the blips and bloops.

“No Intent To Return” features Pryor’s high-register vocals in conjunction with Johannes’, creating a Stars-like duet over a Chromatics-style drum beat. Throw in some pretty post-rock style guitars, and you’ve got an enchanting, inspiring three and a half-minute buildup which doesn’t exactly climax, but lulls you into submission. “Sleep When You Are Dead” is reminiscent of Tanlines’ “Green Grass.” Combining driving indie pop with a fairly intense bassline, “Sleep When You Are Dead” sounds like The Get Up Kids early 2000s work. Pryor’s influence is pretty apparent on this record by now.

It’s funny to think that every emo/post-hardcore musician you idolized went on to do some sort of dance/synthpop project towards the end of their initial outfits, but these kids are nowhere near the end of what made them household punk rock names. They translated, in elegant fashion, their experience making music in the past, almost two-decades, to something fresh, unique and utterly exciting.