The whole swirl of attention
Smoosh got out of the gate due to the performers' age was understandable, but so was the reason why people were listening to start with.
She Like Electric is great, brawling, fun, rock pop without obvious rock signifiers via guitars. The duo of Asya and Chloe only needed vocals, keyboards, and drums to whip out one engaging, enjoyably brisk song after another, kicking off with the stutter drum groove of "Massive Cure" and not holding back. Asya's voice tries on both a to-the-fore style and a softer croon here and there, but on "Take It Away," the latter interpretation works incredibly well, understated but full and fun like the music. The music, meanwhile, constantly varies its ideas of what a verse-chorus structure could be like, although not completely reinventing the conventional pop form. Chloe's drumming throws in all kinds of unexpected touches per song: "It's Cold" is a miniature showcase for cymbal accents alone. The great bass keyboard growl and hook kicking off "La Pump" is another wonderful moment, while the minute-long "The Quack," meanwhile, could be something out of 1981's no wave. "It's Not Your Day to Shine"'s happily forthright hip-hop-meets-new-wave adds to the standouts throughout, something that puts everything together into something fun, a little rough around the edges, and sounding like nothing but itself. But "Bottlenose" could be even sharper, thanks to a creepy bass/synth zone and shout/MCing that could almost be
Le Tigre. ~ Ned Raggett