Highs and Lows

Aging '90s indie kids with fond memories of bands like Velocity Girl, The Heart Throbs or Lush -- winsome female vocals, shimmering keyboards, gently shoegazery guitars -- will find the debut album by Sacramento's Soft Science utterly delightful. The quartet come by the sound honestly: singer Katie Haley (nee Conley) used to lead beloved twee-popsters Holiday Flyer, and more recently, three-quarters of the band (Haley, guitarist Matt Levine and drummer Ross Levine) were in the underexposed California Oranges. But this isn't a nostalgia kick: in a world where Slumberland Records is once again one of the leading labels in the indie marketplace and seemingly an entire generation of Brooklyn hipsters have formed bands inspired by the same late '80s indie pioneers that were Holiday Flyer's direct antecedents, Highs and Lows sounds 100% of its moment. Only the fact that they're not swamped with oceans of reverb keeps tracks as immediately catchy and sweetly melodic as "When Will You Come Home" and "Something To Go On" from sounding like the next Best Coast or The Pains of Being Pure At Heart singles. Gentler and more wistful tunes like "Put Your Arms Around Me" and the swooningly lovely "Closer To Me" -- a strong contender for summer 2011's most gorgeous indie pop song -- are an even better showcase for the band's best feature, Haley's bittersweet voice.