by Conor Lochrie (@conornoconnor)
Forming one half of noted Boston and New York DIY duo Houndsteeth, Jolee Gordon felt that 2021 was the right moment for her to release her first solo EP, titled The Good Parts. Its low-key indie-pop charm will immediately put one in mind of Lily Konigsberg, part of Palberta, who released the solo record The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now earlier this year; that Gordon has previously shared a gig bill with Palberta and Konigsberg only affirms this stylistic connection.
Konigsberg’s solo release was a compilation of her best solo work to date but while Gordon’s own version is comparatively in its infancy, it makes the strength and personality of these six tracks feel notable. She amps up the use of keys from her Houndsteeth partnership: “Mother” is a pounding synth track to open the EP, luring the listener into the dream-pop atmosphere. “Neighborhood” follows and is equally reinforced with a strong use of synth, a sincere song about walking around one’s neighborhood feeling lost in love and life that crackles with youthful vibrancy.
Gordon’s beats are purposefully wonky and disjointed in “Be Here” and “I Can’t See It”: with her awkward tendencies played out under a veneer of cheeky confidence, she sounds a lot like the prolific Thanks For Coming or the renowned Frankie Cosmos, both also fellow New York artists. The tempo is reduced slightly towards the record’s end. Gordon’s voice is pitched solemnly in “Prove It To You,” as she spills out lovelorn lyrics: “I asked do you even care / And you always say that you do / And I will prove it to you but I’m still waiting here,” she sighs, and you can almost see the accompanying eye roll. She then delivers her lines in “The Good Parts” at a disconcertingly hurried pace, hypnotic in its capturing of her anxiety; that song also possesses a genuine vaudeville spirit in its manic energy and springy keys.
It’s been over a year since Houndsteeth’s last release; perhaps Gordon will be releasing more solo works in the near future. If she does, the promise that she shows at 23 bodes well for the remainder of her 20’s. With her soft but affecting vocals and simple but melodic arrangements, her sound will always find connection with her generation as they equally try to maneuver through these most uncertain of times.