It's The Hope That Kills You: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Fortitude Valley (Ex-Tigercats, Martha)

Combining the force of players from a few indie acts, and the styles of a few others, the self-titled debut from Fortitude Valley, out on Friday via Fika Recordings, is a gem. Centered around the vocals of Laura Kovic (Tigercats), the tunes here crackle with energy, and surge with melodic snap. This is indie, yeah, but it's all fairly crunchy stuff.

While "Baby, I'm Afraid", the opener here, buzzes with a vibe worthy of early Weezer, other selections on Fortitude Valley are even better. "All Hail the Great Destroyer", for example, recalls The Wannadies, with as much emphasis being put on the fuzzy hooks as on the bright vocals from Kovic, while "It's The Hope That Kills You" marries a Pavement-y melodic line with elements of Rilo Kiley from their peak years. All of this record is just as good, really.

Daniel Ellis (Martha) is on lead guitar and Nathan Stephens Griffin is on drums, along with Greg Ullyart (Night Flowers) on bass, but this is definitely Laura Kovic's show. Fans of Tigercats will find this material a bit more robust, with the edges harder, at least to these ears. The winning melodies anchor this to the best stuff you indie kids played in the Nineties, even as lots more here suggests a new way of blending some of the usual influences so that the results punch harder, even as the songs remain oddly moving. Fortitude Valley is a record that's damn easy to love, that's what I'm trying to say.

Fortitude Valley is out on Friday via Fika Recordings.

More details on Fortitude Valley via the band's official Facebook page.

[Photo: Fika Recordings]