Can't Always Be There

Hailing from rural New Jersey, this boy/girl four-piece existed for only a few years, but in that time managed to release two EPs and more than half a dozen compilation tracks, the majority of which appeared on their own Beta Snake Records. Though they never strayed too far from home, the band made their way to our mailbox a couple years back (with their debut EP), and subsequently into the Jigsaw mailorder, and finally, to the label's roster. Their music fits in the same vein of '90s indie-poppers, the Maybellines, Gritty Kitty and vintage Bunnygrunt - cute but not overwhelmingly so, and with an equal mix of peppy and moody pop songs. In fact, I'm convinced this could've been released on Kindercore, were it not recorded 15 years too late. Clocking in at about 35 minutes, this 16-track disc collects everything the band released, from their first compilation appearance in 2012 to their last in 2014, ending on an exclusive unreleased track the band recorded before dissolving. A fitting end to the band's all-too-brief career!