Bigger Than the Barn Records

With Kelli Hanson’s second solo effort, Our Buildings, it seems the focus is on conjuring intense and immediate imagery. The album’s 13 tracks, recorded at Santa Cruz’s Gadgetbox Studios, constitute an exploration of the most visceral sort through Hanson’s highly-distinctive, imminently creative, thought-twistingly ambient brand of dark and enigmatic ’80s pop-laced indie rock. “I think a lot of the songs stem from memories,” Hanson explains, “things that have popped up that you remember, and how those things make you feel.” Hanson’s vocals, diaphanous and sparse, mirror the ephemeral quality of her songs’ instrumental arrangements, at times assertive, at times employing the charisma of vulnerability forever owned by gossamer-voiced ’80s pop chanteuses, and often enlisting the meditative melodic transitions used by groups like Zero 7. Lyrics here, are not intended to be the focal point, instead revealing themselves in fits and starts in moments of poignant declaration. The eponymous track offers the album’s most emotionally compelling imagery, using waves of violin and synth to coax a cool but convincing metaphor that compares buildings to relationships: “Each relationship is built up of different materials,” says Hanson, “whether it be a solid concrete foundation or just some glass laying there.” Listen for the euphoric ’80s nostalgia induced by driving beats, invigorating synth hooks and aspirated, self-assured vocals built into tracks like “Chariot” and “Any Other Minute.” “It was an interesting era,” recalls Hanson, revealing her penchant at age 4 for watching Tom Petty and Berlin videos on MTV. “I’m glad that this generation is kind of coming back to find the fun in it again,” Hanson says. She performs this Friday at The Attic at 7 p.m.

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