Now

The Bay Area continues to be the predominant source for indie pop, a seemingly endless well of jangles, strums, and sun that’s produced more than a few faves over the past few years. Featuring members from a cross-section of those favorites, NOW brings together members of Cindy and Thunder Boys for a record that feels akin to The Smashing Times in their ability to find the fusion between British eccentricities of the ‘70s and the wide-eyed wonder of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. The album, like those charmers in The Times, holds a particular affinity for The Television Personalities, offering up sweetly stung pop melodies that don’t feel the need to sand down all the edges.

The band ingests a potent cocktail of pop outside of their overt love of Dan Treacy. From the greasy visions of Robyn Hitchcock to the bumpy hooks of Barret and Ayers, and the incandescent buzz of Comet Gain. Touchstones are nothing without hooks, though, and the band knows how to weave the frayed ends of the past into the kind of earworms that stick with you. Opener, “The Ballad of Joy Bang” twists through funhouse mirror ripples, “Join Our Treasure Hunt” fizzes with electric tension, and standout “In Pathécolor” runs their pop through sweet n’ sour sieves, tugging on the listener in two directions. Now Does The Trick is one of those record that feels like it’ll grow a reputation, a collector’s secret that’ll only grow as the whispers get louder. Get in on the ground floor.

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