by Allison Kridle
Imagine the surprise of attending a show, finding out a new band named Lexie is the opener, and seeing Greta Kline from Frankie Cosmos and Alex Bailey and Doug Bleichner from the band Warehouse step on stage with musical vessels in hand. This is actually how many people discovered the lo-fi indie band, comprised of the multi-talented New York musicians.
The trio met when Kline as Frankie Cosmos was on tour last summer with the Atlanta-based band Warehouse. She hit it off with Bailey (guitar and vocals) and Bleichner (drums) and when the two moved to New York, Lexie was born.
After recording a demo and hitting the New York/Brooklyn music scene, performing with bands like gobbinjr, Yucky Duster, Girlpool, Thanks for Coming, and Ian Sweet, Lexie released their first LP Record Time! And no surprise here, the album tastes so sweet in all it’s harmonies, jangly riffs, and all-too-familiar lyrics.
The third track, “Youngster,” shows what’s most flattering about the record all in one. In accordance with a solid and ticking beat, Bailey and Kline take turns on the mic as they sing “Where did I go wrong? / Where did I go? / Who are these people? / What do they know? / They must know something I never did / It must be something I forgot as a kid.” The song nails the feeling that you’re a child moving into adulthood with missing pieces you have to put together, especially when you approach obstacles that take you off course. The melody, however, isn’t lost but does emit the same innocence-found mindset. It’s playful and bouncy--the kind of melody that moves you.
The same light-hearted and carefree sound carries on in the next track “In Us.” There’s undulating, cartoon-esque riffs as Kline sings, “Well I know love is real/ Cause I know how it feels/ To be the one who carries all the weight/ While I believe in light/ And I believe in love/ I don’t believe in us.” A dying or dead relationship is also part of the story in the record’s culminating track “Tonight.” The song best displays Kline and Bailey’s partnering vocals (the most delightfully synchronized since The Moldy Peaches). Next to a chiming melody and Bleichner’s clean and fast drumming, Bailey sings in his baritone pipes, “Tonight I wait (we had a fight) / To seal your fate (talk about it tomorrow) / There’s no escape / I’m waiting in the hall now (I still love you) / For you to close your eyes (I close my eyes) / You’ll never see me coming (It’s hard) / I have to watch you die,” while Kline sings the parenthesis in her striking falsetto.
Record Time! is evidence that this collaboration is a dream come true, but a dreamthat you didn’t know you had until it suddenly danced into your ears. Even though the “secret” about Lexie has been out for a couple of months, I’m starting to feel like they shouldn’t have shocked so many of us from the very beginning. Obviously, they’ve always had something.