West Indian Girl

West Indian Girl is so fresh out of the package, it still smells like Styrofoam and bubble wrap. But what the Los Angeles group lacks in experience -- the core duo of Robert James and Francis Ten was signed to Astralwerks before playing a single show -- it makes up...

By Jason Heller

April 20, 2006

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West Indian Girl is so fresh out of the package, it still smells like Styrofoam and bubble wrap. But what the Los Angeles group lacks in experience -- the core duo of Robert James and Francis Ten was signed to Astralwerks before playing a single show -- it makes up for in some truly transcendent tunes. The band's self-titled debut is a lilting, sun-dappled wisp of strums, sighs and dreamy electronics that recalls the best of Beta Band, Mercury Rev and even Primal Scream's masterpiece, Screamadelica. With a lineup bolstered by drummer Mark Lewis, keyboardist Chris Carter and backup singer Mariqueen Maandig, West Indian Girl has been putting some miles on the odometer opening for Gomez and Phoenix; Wednesday's Denver gig is being thrown by the folks from Rising Up!, 3 Kings' monthly arts-and-music extravaganza. If West Indian Girl is already this alluring, imagine what it will sound like once it gets broken in.

Jason Heller is a staff writer at Westword. He's the author of the book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded (Melville House/Penguin Random House), and has contributed to the New Yorker, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and NPR.org. His work has won a Hugo Award and a Colorado Press Association Award.

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