On their full-length debut, 2017's
Young
, indie pop duo
Overcoats
fortified their distinctive, blended two-part vocal harmonies with a mix of slick surfaces and atmosphere devised with producers
Autre Ne Veut
and
Nicolas Vernhes
(
Dirty Projectors
,
Wye Oak
). Almost -- but not quite -- leaving behind any trace of their acoustic folk beginnings on the follow-up,
Hana Elion
JJ Mitchell
brought in producers including
Justin Raisen
Charli XCX
Sky Ferreira
Kim Gordon
) to forge a still brasher sound. He and co-producer
Yves Rothman
also co-wrote the album with the band. An empowerment-themed set,
The Fight
establishes sleek, assertive electronic textures right from the a cappella intro to opener "I'll Be There." Manipulated electronics infiltrate the singers' built-out harmony vocals with filtering and other effects. At the same time establishing a lyrical tone that's compassionate as well as determined, the opening stanzas include the lines "I've been through it all before/And I don't know if there's something more/But there's so much worth fighting for." A spare, anthemic track, it adds piano, handclaps, fluttery percussion, and warped vocal samples, among just a few other components on its way to the rousing "Fire and Fury." Like much of the album, that song's fuller arrangement reinforces two and four while assuring "We'll get through it." Elsewhere, the vibrant "Apathetic Boys" pushes the tempo with overdriven drum tones and nervy synths, and "The Fight" ("Just remember that you are not alone") deploys four on the floor strummed guitar and airy synths. With the exception of that track, the energy drops somewhat in the second half of
with songs like the electric guitar ballad "Drift" and closer "New Shoes," the one acoustic entry. While strong vocal performances are pushed forward in the mix throughout the album, and
hold their own as pop adepts a la
Tegan and Sara
, their vocals are most affecting there, amid chirping birds, in their stripped-down, natural form. ~ Marcy Donelson