Group Rhonda 12Th House CD

2013 release from Mara Barenbaum's solo vessel Group Rhoda. Recorded and produced in collaboration with Ben Versluis in San Francisco, the album's eight songs snake through a similarly entrancing terrain as her past work, but this time the production is starker and spikier, with an almost post-punk clarity in places. From witchy island pop ('Day Ruiner,' 'Dust') and dizzy, micro-cosmic disco ('Coral Castle') through paisley-flavored circus-psych ('Disappearing Ground') to wobbly, haunted house dub-damage ('Space Race,' 'Blk Mtl'), the record is rich with rarefied Rhoda rhinestones and reflections. Her vocals pirouette and perplex, detached yet discerning, casting strange dimensions into the music. A free-spirited and fascinating follow-up by one of California's most intriguing young pioneers.

1. Day Ruiner 2. King 3. Disappearing Ground 4. Coral Castle 5. Space Race 6. Dust 7. BLK MTL 8. Heart