In the “great pop” alley of the music market, you can find some pretty cool and catchy music. At RREVERB, we don’t snob pop music. We don’t approve it all, but we can recognize the best one among the sea of commercial items that come out every day. This year, we’ve appreciated Milky Chance, Christine and the Queens, London Grammar, Sia, Alvvays, The Madden Brothers, The Seasons and so many more pop artists that have done things good.

Along comes this New York City quintet Misterwaves that has an undeniable energy (Not Your Way) and catchy melodies, delivered with an enthusiasm that translates their fun to play these songs. Right from the start if their first album, “Our Own House”, one will appreciate the charming voice of the petite brunette Mandy Lee. On other songs like Reflections, Misterwives has fun mixing dark ambiance with funky chorus that will make even the shy ones dance. Mandy Lee’s voice has this je-ne-sais-quoi that captures the attention. You can hear a bit of Cher Lloyd or even Lorde, in the way she sings certain parts (Oceans).

French music fans will notice that Mandy Lee’s voice somehow sounds a bit like Coeur de pirate. There’s something in the way they sing that is the same, don’t you think?

Yes, it’s pop. Yes, it’s made for a light-hearted state of mind. Yes, it’s uncomplicated. But hey, life can be sunny and simple at times, can’t it?

In addition to Lee, Misterwives is percussionist Etienne Bowler, bass guitarist William Hehir, guitarist Marc Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Jesse Blum, and sit-in saxophonist Mike Murphy. The two latter can create a brass section that can be very punchy, live. The band was created in late 2012 when the singer wished to hear an 80s cover band for birthday party. She created one with Bowler and Hehir. A year later, they were opening for Montreal sensation Half Moon Run, then American Authors and The Royal Concept. “Our Own House” was released on February 24, 2015 and reached #7 of the US Alternative (?) charts, led by the single Reflections.

Enjoy.

MISTERWIVES
Our Own House
(Photo Finish Records, 2015)

-Genre: pop
-In the same field as Cher Lloyd, Tops, Lorde

Follow the band via their Facebook page
Listen to videos on the band’s YouTube channel

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About The Author

Mélomane invétéré plongeant dans tous les genres et époques, Nicolas Pelletier a publié 6 000 critiques de disques et concerts depuis 1991, dont 1100 chez emoragei magazine et 600 sur enMusique.ca, dont il a également été le rédacteur en chef de 2009 à 2014. Il publie "Les perles rares et grands crus de la musique" en 2013, lance le site RREVERB en 2014, et devient stratège numérique des radios de Bell Média en 2015, participant au lancement de la marque iHeartRadio au Canada en 2016. Il dirige maintenant la stratégie numérique d'ICI Musique, la radio musicale de Radio-Canada.