Sisters

Add Date: September 21

Artist: Sisters

Album: Ghost Fits

Label: Narnack

Genre: Rock

Comments: There are two bands to which I immediately want to compare the NYC duo Sisters; it's so easy that I feel bad doing it, but here goes: Japandroids and No Age. All three of those acts make way too much noise for just two people, using guitar pedals at such a masterful level that you'll swear they've got a bassist and a rhythm guitarist whom they're just not telling you about.

However, that's not to say that Ghost Fits rips off Japandroids' excellent 2009 debut Post-Nothing, or anything that Dean Spunt and Randy Randall have done. (Speaking of No Age, their excellent new LP, Everything In Between, also adds to the playlist this week.) Far from it, in fact: though at heart a garagey punk band, Sisters have a knack for churning out pop songs with hooks and melodies so catchy that they filter right through those layers of guitar effects. There's even some shoegaze seeping in, especially on tracks like "Sky," which brings to mind the unfortunately-defunct band Dirty on Purpose, whose members have a close connection to Sisters' Aaron Pfannebacker and Matt Conboy.

Also try "The Curse," "Highway Scratch" and "Courthouse."