Good Housekeeping

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More About

• Stereolab
• Zack Littlefield
• Cocteau Twins

Kind as Summer's opening track, "Hanging in the Hollow," reveals Good Housekeeping's influence almost immediately — specifically, you'll hear the lounge end of '60s French pop, Stereolab and maybe a bit of Broadcast. The album's gently chiming, resonant guitars are also reminiscent of later-era Cocteau Twins, but with greater warmth of sound due to the presence of Zack Littlefield (also of Sonnenblume) — an actual drummer instead of a machine. But where the band distinguishes itself the most on Kind is in the textures. Found-sound insect noises are layered over minimalist guitar and dappled with spectral keyboards, while measured percussive cadences are infused with subtly complex jazz flourishes. "Beechy Bottom Trail," a largely instrumental number, spotlights all of these virtues most thoroughly, as does "Above the Tide," the disc's strongest track, with guitar drones weaving in and out and a Fender Rhodes creating an ethereal melody usually provided by guitar and synths.