On their debut album, Take You Somewhere, Sassyhiya offer up exuberant indie and robust updates of the sort of material that one heard from acts as disparate as Young Marble Giants, Heavenly, Birdie, and others in the past. "I Had a Thought" is ruminative and smartly rendered, while the more boisterous "Kristen Stewart" powers an ode to the actress with big hooks like something from The Long Blondes. Elsewhere, on the title cut, Sassyhiya reveal debts owed to Heavenly in terms of style, with the tune having a gentle insistence that pleases enormously. On "Thank You and Goodbye" one can hear a hint of American legends Beat Happening, though London-based Sassyhiya update that sort of simple act with melodic sweetness and light, enough that the tune certainly stands as one of the highlights of this debut record.
Sassyhiya are a new band, and for all here on Take You Somewhere that a listener will find familiar in terms of style, there's a lot more that's unqiue and self-assured. "Perennial", to use one example, blossoms on its central hook, and the chiming guitars and horns here really charm. There's a lot of stylistic variety on this album, and, sure, lots of it succeeds because a listener can trace this material back to the indie-pop progenitors who came before. That said, Sassyhiya successfully straddle both playful, lighthearted material, and tracks which reveal a bit more seriousness. And for that reason, and the ease with which the band make this record so listenable, Take You Somewhere is highly recommended. Keep your ears open for Sassyhiya.
Take You Somewhere by Sassyhiya is out now via Skep Wax.
[Photo: Vanessa Walters]