Album Review: "Queens" by La Sera

Music and memory tend to go hand-in-hand and it's always fun to hear a throwback on the radio, some song by one of those bands you listened to growing up that makes you reminisce about high school days, if only for a few minutes.

Ah, nostalgia!

Take that feeling and add surprise when you hear something from a new band that puts you right back into on old familiar place you didn't even know you missed.

This album has the power to make you wonder where your old cassettes are hiding.

Los Angeles based punk duo, La Sera, recently released their second album with Polyvinyl Records, Queens, putting a new spin on some favorites as well as recording new tunes, including a surprise for fans of a classic rock juggernaut which I won't reveal.

You'll have to give them a listen to discover it. At once bright and jaunty yet still grinding and edgy, Queens should satisfy the band's fans, old and new alike.

La Sera consists of Katy Goodman and Todd Wisenbaker and list The Smiths as an influence. That sound definitely comes through in their music from the very Marr-like guitar to the drums to the vocals, though a lot less depressing while still maintaining a sense of need.

You really want to listen to these songs and Goodman's voice sometimes lulls you into a sleepy comfort just before the instruments catch up and shock you back into action.

A full US tour kicked off last weekend, on the heels of their release of Queens, and is set to keep the duo on the road through the first week of November. Catch them live and see what other surprises they might have in store.

Release: September 30, 2106
Genre: Punk, alt-folk
Label: Polyvinyl Records
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Buy their music now from Polyvinyl