Mean Lady's debut album, 2013's
Love Now, is a melodic, psychedelic work built around lead vocalist
Katie Dill's appealingly throaty, soulful vocals and multi-instrumentalist Sam Nobles' eclectic productions. Also lending a hand on a few tracks is drummer Brian Bruce. Mixing keyboards, guitars, bass, real and sampled drums, and other sundry instruments, the Delaware-based duo crafts hummable tunes that straddle the line between psychedelic experimentation and radio-friendly pop craftsmanship. With its balance of wide-eyed, electronic-infused experimentation and undeniably catchy melodies,
Mean Lady often brings to mind a more compact version of bands like
the Flaming Lips and
Animal Collective. In that sense, the album also fits nicely next to works by such similarly inclined contemporaries as Chicago's
Wild Belle and Portland's
Viva Voce. Which is to say,
Mean Lady is an experimental, hippie-leaning band that never loses sight of a great pop hook. Lyrically,
Dill writes songs that complement this flower-child sensibility with songs about dreams (both actual and figurative), romantic love, and the beauty of nature. In "One Big Family,"
Dill sings "All the rivers flow downhill till they reach the sea/All lovers they lay in bed, lay in bed sharing bread...every night, in my dreams we all be, we all be one big family." Elsewhere, tracks like the languid "Far Away" and the equally blissed-out "Bop Bop" have a laid-back, summery vibe that brings to mind children's lullabies. The band also delves into reggae on "Why'd'ya Haftabee Sucha?" and evinces a similarly dreamy, island-influenced sound on "Daisies." It doesn't take very long listening to
Love Now to realize that
Mean Lady's band name is tongue in cheek, as the group's sound, above all else, is pleasant, gentle, and sweet. ~ Matt Collar