by Kris Handel
Despondent is the “solo” project of Caution’s Nora Schlang (aka Nora Button) and Other Girls Too is their debut EP, five songs of somewhat bitter guitar pop full of crunch and disarming melodies. With Despondent, Schlang’s musical approach is a little sharper and less hazy but no less compelling, still keeping an element of shoegaze/dream-pop in play on these recordings. She has more space to expound on insecurities in relationships and desires, and there is a bittersweetness that unfolds, carrying quite an emotional weight. Despondent play with an energy that cuts through the darker moments, full of slashing chords and tune-smithing that is reminiscent of late 90’s guitar driven pop filtered through a sort of Speedy Ortiz/Vivian Girls lens.
“Change” kicks off the record with brightly chiming guitars from Joe Cristo and Schlang, whose vocals float and swoop over the blasts and pauses in the pop-punk dissonance. There is a jumpiness here that is quite ear-catching, creating a bit of cognitive dissonance given the doubts and somewhat bummer tone of the lyrics. “Hunter” and “Elliott Smith” take a slightly calmer approach, but the storminess of mood shifts continue to be at play, popping up in multiple motifs in both songs. The former has Schlang expressing a string of inward-looking disappointments while the latter starts off with a playfully waltzing guitar intro before slipping into skittering, chiming, and sporadic crashes as she slides between countless emotional explosions.
Other Girls Too is an EP that is quite attention grabbing with a lot to delve into in each of these little morsels of intense self-accountability in a pop coating. Schlang’s vocals shape-shift magnificently to the moods of each track as they can occasionally soar to great heights or downshift to tender and sullen at will. The band have managed to compile five songs that flow seamlessly between each other and lay the groundwork for musical exploration that is free to travel where its whims will take it. Despondent is a project that scratches every itch in all the right places and delivers a record that has a magnetic ability to captivate with its passion and songcraft.