Heliotropes

Heliotropes describe their sound as “poppy doom.” That moniker works better than anything I’d pull out, so I’m going to run with it. Principally, I like the potential for double entendre there. The inclination is to think “poppy” as in Justin Timberlake, but the label works just as well if you think “poppy” as in lotus eaters. Heliotropes hit both connotations, with a distinct ear for what makes the toe tap and an eye on swirling, psychotropic freakouts. Regardless of how you read the first word there, “doom” is a big part of what Heliotropes sound is about. The all-female trio lays down bruising, feedback laced power chords in front of a nefariously stomping rhythm section that brings neo-psych acts like The Black Angels to mind, but subverts that idiom a bit with alternatingly lilting and aggressive vocals. The band can also take a left turn into syrupy wispiness with a track like “Unadorned,” but the lay waste to the countryside gear works extremely well. The tail end of “Valentine” is as good a slow burn as I’ve heard in a minute (and manages to recall “Breaking the Girl” in a good way). As with Young Buffalo, you can get a four song fix from the band’s myspace; good luck getting “Left Right Left” out of your head. Rob believes that the track below would work in a cinematic context, and I don’t disagree. (Swap out “Early in the Morning” for “Little Green Bag” at the front end of Reservoir Dogs and you’ve got an entirely different feel that probably works really well.) On a slightly unrelated note, any act that uses one of C.F. Gauss’s lesser-known inventions as their band name has my sincere stamp of approval. Anybody calling themselves Prime Number Theorem get an immediate listen. - Citizen Dick: A Cleveland/Chicago music blog

Heliotropes are a brand spanking new band from Brooklyn who formed in the summer of 2008. Iféoluwa Babalola, Jessica Numsuwankijkul, and Amber G. Myers got together for the sole purpose of playing some Brian Eno songs with no synthesizer -- just guitar, drums and harmonium. With a sound ranging from psychedelic folk to the '90's indie girl groups, it'll be exciting to watch Heliotropes blossom in the new year.

I had a chance to catch an off-the-cuff performance at an open mic night at Matchless and I was blown away. They performed the song "Unadorned" which consisted of beautiful harmonies, haunting lyrics, and whistling standing in for a missing harmonium. Listen for yourself using the link to their Myspace page below.

2009 will find Heliotropes writing and recording songs and hopefully putting out a full length. Jessica says "We're trying to make an effort to just go with what comes up and not really fight what comes easily." They just played their first show in Washington DC on New Years Eve.

Check them out Jan. 21st at Public Assembly in Williamsburg. - Blissful Music