Rebecca Schiffman

Add Date: August 30 

Artist: Rebecca Schiffman 

Album: Rebecca Schiffman 

Label: Fayettenam 

Genre: Indie pop 

Comments: The eponymous Rebecca Schiffman is the third LP -- albeit the first in seven years -- from this Los Angeles-based musician, artist, and designer. (Grimes is a fan of her jewelry.) VICE has claimed that Schiffman "... has such a deadpan yet sincere voice, like a less goofy Kimya Dawson or a more goofy Suzanne Vega", going on to say that "she's like a long-lost character from The Royal Tenenbaums." Add in the fact that the new album closes with a cover of Robyn Hitchcock's "I'm Only You", and you've got a good introduction to Schiffman's style.

The opening cuts on the LP, "Nico" and "Walking to the Subway", are late-'90s-vintage twee at its finest, reminding me of early Camera Obscura. Keep listening, and you'll come across what the promoter describes as "the early Pink Floyd-inspired jet engine guitar" -- played by none other than Wilco's Nels Cline -- on mid-album standout "Tips for Conquering Fear of Flying", as well as, yes plenty more well-written, well-orchestrated indie pop tunes. Rebecca Schiffman may be just another cutesy, off-kilter indie pop record -- but even if that's true, it's a really damn good one. 

Recommended Tracks: 2, 5, 1, 9, 4

DNP: none