The NYC alternative pop group, MisterWives displays some serious mileage on their debut full length album, Our Own House. The recording is a hotbed of important sounding electro-pop music that has imagination and depth.
The group’s electronic core sound reveals an influence of ‘80’s/’90’s synth pop but they put some distance between those years and now.
The wide range of performance and songwriting is riveting. The band is masters of mood on Our Own House and Coffins and also purveyors of heavy bubblegum on Reflections. Overall, the music has a smiley face.
They could be labelled “thinking man’s pop,” although that’s a stretch. But songs like Imagination Infatuation reveal pop smarts, high energy and musical proficiency.
There is a similarity to the edgy Britpop of the Ting Tings but MisterWives has an abstract adventurism that is similar to some Scandinavian musicians (Lykke Li, Abba). That’s tempered by the hookiness inherent in the songwriting and straight-up energy of MisterWives.
The big calling card here is the voice of Mandy Lee Duffy, an emerging vocal presence whose sound is balanced by latent power and a slight lilt. Duffy’s vocal is bolstered by the four-piece band (William Hehir, Etienne Bowler, Marc Campbell and Jess Blum).
There’s a heavily professional sheen to the sound but MisterWives clearly aren’t some project band. Let’s just say that they’ve got their act together quickly.
Our Own House is an impressive and uplifting debut.
– Dean Gordon-Smith is a Vernon-based musician who reviews the latest music releases for The Morning Star every Friday.
