La Sera

Like her former Vivian Girls band mate Frankie Rose, "Kickball" Katy Goodman's solo debut as La Sera celebrated '50s and '60s pop in its most echo-laden form. Second time out, the singer/bass player continues to explore that period, yet comes at it from half-a-dozen different angles, with her trademark, stripped down indie rock aesthetic running throughout. More significantly, she binds those sounds together via end-of-a-relationship-themed tunes. But while something significant has happened in Goodman's romantic life, rather than excise her emotional demons, she celebrates her emancipation with lyrics like, "I can't keep you in my mind" and "I love my life without you." Call it a post-breakup record, but the record, both lyrically and musically, never falls prey to the genre tropes songwriters often lean on when exploring this kind of retro territory. While her debut featured plenty of catchy tunes, Sees the Light captures Goodman in a far more confident mode, showcasing her wit and personality.