Little Grey Cells
Gold Bolus, 2025
8/10
The duo of Lainie Fefferman and Jascha Narveson, as The Beverage Station they illuminate their compositional, vocal, and electronic ways with a very atypical take on pop sounds.
“wakeups” begins the listen with a field recording ambience before bright synth patterns enter the playful landscape, and “BLAMO!” follows with wordless vocals, animated drumming and percussive sounds that carry an infectious energy amid spoken word.
“Autumn Song” and “Labor Day” occupy the middle spots. The former is soulful, colorful and recruits processed vocals alongside the shifting electronica, while the latter offers a rhythmic and dance floor ready appeal thanks to the charming synth, well timed beats and pretty vocals.
Close to the end, “One And One” buzzes with style, shimmering gestures and mesmerizing vocals, and “three-eighteen” exits with intimacy, minimalism and emotion.
This is the pair’s first release together and let’s hope it is isn’t the last, cause the influences from Pet Shop Boys, Sylvan Esso and Kraftwerk plus their strategic layering makes for a highly intriguing synth-pop effort.
Travels well with: DU.O- Thoughts From The Future; Dave Ruder- Lil Ol Davy Ru Ru