supersmall - the other world

Supersmall

The Other World
self-released; 2013

3.9 out of 5

By Sean Dennison

Poppy and glossy and primarily acoustic pop from this NY duo, Supersmall, and oh dear lord Colin Dempsey sounds like a New Englander like woah. Guitarist Dempsey works construction by day and drummer Daniela Schiller is an Israeli neuroscientist because why not. When they're not doing their day jobs as people directly involved with social structures both physical and abstract, they don their folk hero costumes make affecting acoustic pop with a variety of influences.

The wane melancholy of Nick Drake is inverted on the eponymous opener while they take a more jazzy approach on "Blue Skies (The End)" and there's even an organ. But then "Goodbye Old Friend" goes back to rustic melodies displayed on the first track. And there’s a much slower, more melodic lounge number that appears within "Everywhere." So they're quite the style shifters on these seven tracks.

This Other World  is not a long listen, but it's a damn strong one. Dempsey's pneumatic voice can contract to sound tough like when he's singing blunt reminders like "It's a shame you're going nowhere / you can't go forward / you can't remember." But he can also let his sound float around like in "Everywhere." A poetic line like "You're a star and you're the air / you're all I breath you're everywhere" sounds awesome with the autumnal string arrangements, but it's Dempsey's voice that gives it quiet passion. Schiller adds to the sound with defined percussion. On "Fireworks (Hidden Track)" (don't know if I was supposed to tell you that), which sounds funky as hell, Schiller gives a powerful performance and her simple drum patterns still hit the spot. I'd say she takes after The Kinks' Mick Avory and more recently Weezer's Patrick Wilson.

It's not entirely folk music but the genres don't blend enough to call it a crossover. Each song stands on its own and Supersmall explores genres as casually and effectively as if they were picking a bouquet of wild roses. Their spirit is high, and mine certainly was, too, by the end of this.

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