Fake Tears

Nightshifting

Mint

LP $16.00

08/07/2015 773871016011

MRL 160

MP3 $8.91

08/07/2015 773871016028

FLAC $9.90

08/07/2015 773871016028

Before joining together as Fake Tears, Larissa Loyva and Elisha May Rembold were already established singers and songwriters in their own right. The former released two spectral albums under the name Kellarissa, toured the world as a live member of Destroyer and How to Dress Well, and played in past Mint Records acts P:ano and The Choir Practice; the latter leads the folk-rock band the Lost Lovers Brigade and is a member of Shimmering Stars. The pair first collaborated when Loyva joined the lineup of Lost Lovers, and honed their chemistry during a stint as backup vocalists in the funky local ensemble COOL TV.
Their current project dates back to 2012, when Loyva and Rembold got together as part of a larger ensemble. “I thought I’d make an all-woman supergroup,” Loyva remembers. “We started with five, and then, after a couple of months and a couple of practices, we were down to two. And then it just stuck.”
This stripped-down duo lineup carved out a new sound focused around haunting, buzzy synths and angelically soaring harmonies. The friends developed their talents as beat-makers, providing a pulsing backdrop for their shadowy synth-pop songs, and perfected their material during frequent live shows.
Upon signing with Mint, the ladies looked to labelmate Jay Arner to produce their debut album. In just a handful of sessions, they built on top of their existing demo tracks, fleshing out their dual microKORG playing using Arner’s collection of analog synths. The result is Nightshifting, a radiant collection of sparkling electro-pop that is simultaneously spooky and infectious, nocturnal and pop-friendly.
“Second Wind” captures the band’s combination of dark and light, as a tambourine-rattling dance groove is layered with glittering synth hooks and ghostly, impassioned pleas of “Do you want me? / Do you care?” Elsewhere, “Night Box” and “Uncanny Valley” are urgently sinister, while “Rite of the First Night” anchors its classic teen movie keyboards with a slinky R&B swagger, and “Small Fires” is a serene, heavy-lidded lullaby.
The key to Fake Tears’ success: separately, they have distinct and beautiful voices, but together, they seamlessly combine to make something that’s even greater than the sum of its parts.