Harriet – American Appetite

Infectiously Catchy

Los Angeles-based band Harriet are expressing their patriotism with their infectiously catchy and clean cut debut album, American Appetite. The four piece outfit (frontman Alex Casnoff, drummer Henry Kwapis, bassist Patrick Kelly and guitarist Matt Blitzer) have carved out a space for themselves in the indie pop ranks with American Appetite, boasting enough synth and steady bass lines to earn comparisons to those of the likes and caliber of Chairlift and Yeasayer.

It can be said with a great amount of certainty that each track on American Appetite is ridiculously unforgettable pop-perfection. The men of Harriet have swapped out their rough and gritty sound a la Tell The Right Story (their first EP), instead taking a more minimalistic and delicate approach to American Appetite. Some songs, such as the title track, have almost an ambient air about them, combining airy keyboards with longing vocals, courtesy of Casnoff. “Irish Margaritas” is techno-heavy, emitting strong vibes that liken their heavy use of synthesizers and simple but driving guitar riffs to those of TV On the Radio, who famously also implement strong atmospheric elements in their music.

It could be inferred that Harriet’s driving mantra is “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Therefore, it’s hard to complain about the the indistinguishable similarity between every track on American Appetite, because it’s what makes Harriet, Harriet. Anything other than cool, cleanly produced pop would feel strange and out of character performed by them. Each track is essentially a uniform pop song, but with just enough eccentricity to make it, well, weird. Perhaps if they swapped out some of their quirks for a more steadfast approach to their music, they could garner more popularity from the general pop-consuming public. But this is something that Harriet should certainly never do, as their alternative approach to the catchy chorus and their impressive experimental instrumentation is what sets them apart. To sacrifice that would be sacrilege.