Expectations

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A collegiate band indebted to labels including Factory, Creation, and Sarah Records as well as the sophisti-pop of Prefab Sprout and the Blue Nile, Shoestrings added electronic and programmed components to their arrangements for a wistful indie pop all their own on their 1997 debut album, Wishing on Planes. While project leaders Mario Suau and Rose Uytuico -- now Rose Suau -- stayed connected to the music industry over the ensuing decades, it wasn't until they worked together on the 2017 full-length debut of Rose's synth pop group, Djustin (with Acid House Kings' Johan Angergård), that the couple were inspired to reignite Shoestrings. Arriving 24 years after their only previous album, Expectations edges away from sophisti-pop inspirations toward a Cure-like bittersweet post-punk-pop on a set of heartbroken, weary, reluctantly cynical songs from the disappointed far side of adult relationships. With Rose and Mario trading lead vocals and, therefore, points of view throughout the set, the album opens with "Gone," a duet about running into a onetime person of interest who is newly available. One of Expectations' livelier tracks, it combines shimmery synths, melodic bass, and textured drums, as lyrics question whether it would be worth it to even try ("We always hope they're 'The One'...And we try to hold on"). Later, the plaintive "Everything" ("Each wave, we drift further from everything") features Rose Suau's reminiscences and Mario's harmonies over piano, keyboards, and moody, echoing guitars; it's paired with the Mario lament "Someone" ("Someone who used to love me"). They come together again on the chorus of a driving title track that seems to take mutual responsibility for "unmet expectations." The album's yearning melodies pair particularly well with Rose's girlish, vulnerable vocal quality on a song like "Between the Lines," which has emotional walls fully erected ("When all you have is just an illusion/Knowing you would leave me empty"). All told, it's a sad and effectively endearing state of affairs that's bound to connect with fans who have matured along with them, as well as those partial to melancholy synth songs. Trivia of note: Expectations features exclusive cover art by social realist figurative painter Sean Mahan. ~ Marcy Donelson Show more