Baptist Girls

Formerly having led Chemic, Scott Kirkpatrick shifted from that to a new project with Bro. Stephen, releasing its debut in early 2012. On first blush, Baptist Girls retains many of the same qualities that Chemic displayed, defined by Kirkpatrick's and Cheyenne Marie Mize's high vocals and sense of acoustic contemplation underscoring the textured warmth of the album. But it's that sense which holds more of a central sway here — steering further from the realms of 21st century indie rock as a big group effort, Kirkpatrick is far more Nick Drake than Wayne Coyne, at least in terms of volume if not exactly sound. There's a touch of steel guitar twang on "Tears on Tape" and more on the beautiful "Without Effort," backing vocals sounding like strange moving signals from across a horizon that further suggests other realms of inspiration. Kirkpatrick's sense of depths and unusual contexts remains key as well — something like "Patron of the Arts" could just be a bit of acoustic guitar and reverb-touched singing, but lyrics like "Softly spinning to a dance tune" appear even as dark growls cut under the mix, making the song something else again. It's these moments that help to leaven what can be a seemingly monochromatic release at points, but whether it's the concluding chorus to "Domino" or the reedy drone on "Prayer Pose" cutting to a rich guitar echo, there's always a little something else going on.