Vinyl LP pressing. Before joining together as Fake Tears, Larissa Loyva and Elisha May Rembold were already established singers and songwriters in their own right. The former released two spectral albums under the name Kellarissa, toured the world as a live member of Destroyer and How to Dress Well, and played in past Mint Records acts P:ano and The Choir Practice; the latter leads the folk-rock band the Lost Lovers Brigade and is a member of Shimmering Stars. The pair first collaborated when Loyva joined the lineup of Lost Lovers, and honed their chemistry during a stint as backup vocalists in the funky local ensemble COOL TV. This stripped-down duo lineup carved out a new sound focused around haunting, buzzy synths and angelically soaring harmonies. The friends developed their talents as beat-makers, providing a pulsing backdrop for their shadowy synth-pop songs, and perfected their material during frequent live shows. Upon signing with Mint, the ladies looked to labelmate Jay Arner to produce their debut album. quot;Second Windquot; captures the band's combination of dark and light, as a tambourine-rattling dance groove is layered with glittering synth hooks and ghostly, impassioned pleas of quot;Do you want me? / Do you care?quot; Elsewhere, quot;Night Boxquot; and quot;Uncanny Valleyquot; are urgently sinister, while quot;Rite of the First Nightquot; anchors it's classic teen movie keyboards with a slinky R&B swagger, and quot;Small Firesquot; is a serene, heavy-lidded lullaby. The key to Fake Tears' success: separately, they have distinct and beautiful voices, but together, they seamlessly combine to make something that's even greater than the sum of its parts.
