Call Me Broken Hearted

After Louise “Crybaby”

I don’t love directly comparing new artists to artists who’ve been around a while. It always feels a bit lazy or unfair, but bear with me: You know how Molly Rankin sings on Alvvays’ 2022 masterpiece Blue Rev? (I hope you do because I’m not kidding, it’s a masterpiece.) That sensitive but sorta defensive tone, attached to melodies that seem wispy at first but reveal themselves to be omega class earworms? “Crybaby” sounds so much like it could fit in on Blue Rev that I had to check to make sure After Louise wasn’t a Molly Rankin side project I had not heard about.

Here’s the twist: Whereas Alvvays songs mostly fall somewhere between early R.E.M./Smiths jangle and My Bloody Valentine/Slowdive shoegaze, “Crybaby” trades all that busy guitar noise for a tight pocket groove, a mildly funk bass, and some sparkling keyboard parts. It’s got some swing, it’s got some negative space, it’s got enough bittersweet romantic ambiance to sit comfortably next to a Beach House track or The Marias’ streaming mega-hit “No One Noticed” on a playlist.

So yes, I do feel bad that I’m framing After Louise’s music entirely in relationship to other music, but it’s all very good music. I’m sure they’ll reveal a little more distinct character as they go along, but this is a fabulous start.

Buy it from Bandcamp.