Beverly began during
Frankie Rose's 2013 tour when she and her band's keyboardist,
Drew Citron, spent long hours talking about their shared musical tastes.
Rose was keen to go back to playing drums,
Citron was looking for an outlet for her songs, so it made perfect sense for them to join forces. After a quick listen to the duo's first album
Careers, it's easy to hear some of the bands they must have bonded over, like
the Breeders,
the Shop Assistants, or any of the bands
Rose was in previously (
Vivian Girls,
Dum Dum Girls). What also becomes clear is that
Citron was ready to do her own thing,
Rose is likely the best collaborator she could have hoped for, and the duo manage to transcend their influences while delivering a strong and promising first record. Taking these point by point,
Citron's songs are simple and hooky, with choruses that stick in your head after one listen and display a satisfying amount of diversity from one to the next. Tracks like the honey-sweet "Honey Do" and the hard charging, uptempo feedback rocker "Planet Birthday" show that she's adept at working both sides of the noise pop street.
Rose's always powerful drumming provides a rock-solid foundation for the songs, and her backing vocal harmonies are reliably beautiful. The two songs that lean more toward
Rose's solo work, the slowly drifting "Yale's Life" and the dramatic album-closer "Black and Grey" are lovely breaks in the noise pop action that provide balance to the record. The strength of the songs and the powerful energy with which the duo deliver them help them escape any charges of ripping off the past.
Careers isn't a nostalgia trip, it's an excellent example of noise pop at its best. And it's a coming-out party for
Citron. Especially since
Rose left the band just before the album's release to return to her solo work, leaving
Citron to carry on the
Beverly name alone. Judging from her efforts here, whatever she does next should be worth checking out. ~ Tim Sendra