Tag: ballerina

Romantic States came on to my radar with their Take My Hand and Run 7″; those two songs blew me away, which led to my adoration for their follow-up, Corduroy in Italy. Today, the band announce their follow-up LP, Ballerina, putting the band on display as they continue to flesh out their pop sound. If we’re basing this album off one song, it seems a slight departure, or rather, another step further towards intimate bedroom pop. Their last LP showed glimpses of this, but there was still a little jagged guitar dancing in and out of tunes. Here, you really get this stunning performance from Ilenia, coolly sitting with her vocals in this pseudo-croon as she takes on the role of full-time singer; rhythm duties now feature Shawn Durham on drums and Alan Everheart (Wildhoney) on bass. Jim enters with these bright little guitar lines, but they’re really crisp, rather than distorted; I think it comes across as the perfect accent to the vocals, matching the careful delivery of the melodies. Ballerina already sounds brilliant, if you’re asking; it’ll be out on October 16th via Gentle Reminder Records.