A Classic Indie-Pop Playlist for Vivian Girls & Crystal Stilts

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UPSTART NEW YORK CITY bands Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts borrow heavily from groups that were around during indie pop's late-'80s/early-'90s heyday with songs that are fuzzy, catchy and soaked with healthy doses of reverb. (Think of The Jesus & Mary Chain's first album.)

Appropriately, Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts are on tour together, and they play DC9 on Aug. 13.

So, it seemed like a good idea to ask the tourmates for a Top 5 list of bands from the scenes that helped shaped their sounds: C-86, a U.K.-dubbed DIY pop trend named after a cassette given away with NME magazine in 1986; and Slumberland, the label forged in Silver Spring and D.C. that helped define the area's indie-pop ethos in the early 1990s, with releases by Black Tambourine, Velocity Girl and Lilys.

But like most good ideas I have, this one didn't work out.

"I think we're simultaneously influenced by post-punk from the '80s and proto-punk music of the '50s and '60s that influenced C-86: [the labels] Postcard, Flying Nun and, of course, Slumberland," said JB Townsend of Crystal Stilts, whose exceptional self-titled debut comes out on Slumberland on Oct. 28. "For instance, the Mary Chain was influenced by Dylan, [Velvet Underground] and Love, so we're going to sound like the Mary Chain if we're pulling from the same tree."

Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls also politely rebuffed the Top 5 offer: "Unfortunately, we aren't able to answer why we sound like Slumberland/C-86, etc., because we didn't have that sound in mind when we were starting out and writing songs, and we still don't. Although it's flattering to be compared to that genre, we don't exactly relate to it."

But one listen to Vivian Girls' excellent self-titled debut will have you scratching your head about her denial. Besides, Black Tambourine is listed as an influence on the Vivian Girls' MySpace page. (Although, for whatever reason, in the past week B.T. has been demoted from first to third-listed influence.)

To my ears, the resemblance is obvious, and I suspect that this will not be the last time either band is asked this question. If that is the case, here are my suggestions for five classic C-86 songs the bands can cite the next time an annoying journalist tries to force the comparison.

» The Shop Assistants, "Safety Net"

The albums by Vivian Girls and Crystal Stilts are littered with the rudimentary drumbeat used in this song — all floor tom and kick drum. Throw in the distorted guitar, barely decipherable vocals and obvious Jesus & Mary Chain influence and you have the template for most Vivian Girls songs, whether they know it or not.

» The Pastels, "Crawl Babies"

Black Tambourine's Pam Berry admired Stephen Pastel's songwriting — and not inconsiderable cuteness — so much that she penned a song called "Throw Aggi From the Bridge," exhorting Stephen to drown his lover and bandmate, Aggi, so Berry could take her place as the former, and perhaps the latter. In this video, Stephen models an anorak, which fellow C-86 favorites Another Sunny Day "immortalized" as the official garment of the movement with their song "Anorak City."

» The Flatmates, "Shimmer"

The Flatmates may claim the twin titles of Best and Most Overlooked Band of the C-86 era. Guitarist and chief songwriter Martin Whitehead played Ramones riffs with extra jangle but the assertive-yet-feminine vocals of Debbie Haynes served as the group's calling card. Go to the band's MySpace page to hear "Shimmer" and other indie-noise poppers.

» 14 Iced Bears, "Balloon Song"

Although the C-86 performers weren't always virtuosos, the quality of their songwriting made their sometimes-shambolic performances more charming than off-putting. As a testament, here's a live version of one of 14 Iced Bears' best songs, later covered by Slumberland favorites The Aislers Set.

» McCarthy, "Keep an Open Mind or Else"

This is a comparatively mild critique of the limits of the liberal mindset in contrast with the band's overtly Marxist compositions like "Should the Bible Be Banned," "And Tomorrow the Stock Exchange Will Be the Human Race" and "The Procession of Popular Capitalism." If you're looking for a model of how to move past the basic indie-pop formula, McCarthy succeeded by first entering the political arena and then breaking away entirely with the Krautrock-influenced Stereolab, featuring McCarthy members Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier.

Written by Express contributor Meg Zamula
Photos courtesy Crystal Stilts (top) and Vivian Girls

» Download a free Crystal Stilts MP3 from our Sound Bets blog.