Over and out

Detroit ex-residents Jennifer and Laura Rogers sound pretty comfortable with their Brooklyn home on Invisible Deck, the Rogers Sisters' sophomore LP and first full-length for Too Pure. Post-punk tension and rhythms built for backroom dance parties full of thrashed hosiery and slight builds have been the borough's main musical export for a while now, and the Sisters have that sound down to a neon T. But their unique take begins with the vocals of guitarist Jennifer and bassist Miyuki Furtado. She's sweet but sinister; he's sarcastic and a little overbearing, like the drunk loud guy in the corner mixing politics and fashion who's too good-looking to ignore. Working over effectively spare drumming from Laura, the Rogers Sisters build dynamically simple but usually pretty clever songs like "Never Learn to Cry," "You Undecided," and "Conversation." There are references to the Fall and Cure here, but also choppy melodies and dual vocal shouts that are self-made, and a battered makeup box of guitar tones that really stick to the skull. At Deck's end, when "Sooner or Later" breaks down into snare and off-beat handclaps, you want to clap along. Not because it's the cool thing to do, but because it sounds right.

Johnny Loftus writes about music for Metro Times. Send comments to [email protected].