Already one-third of Brooklyn’s Au Revoir Simone (QRO spotlight on), one wouldn’t think that Erika Forster would need to break out with a solo release, but considering that all three ladies Simone (Forster, Heather D’Angelo, and Annie Hart – QRO interview with Hart) sing and play keyboards (not to mention all three being willowy beauties – QRO photos), a solo record isn’t so outlandish. As ‘Erika Spring’ on Erika Spring EP, Forster doesn’t hugely diverge from the Simone style, but still delivers nicely.
Interestingly, the most un-Simone-like piece on Erika Spring is the opener, “Happy At Your Gate”. While atmospheric like much of Au Revoir Simone’s work, it’s sultry in a way that the trio never really is (though perhaps you wish they would be). But of the other four songs on the EP, two (“Hidden” and “6 More Weeks”) are nice but a bit run-of-the-mill airy electronica in this heyday of airy electronica, while the other two (“Like a Fire” and “When Tomorrow Comes”) admittedly feel like Au Revoir Simone – but that’s not a bad thing in the slightest, as “Fire” is some better airy electronica, while “When Tomorrow Comes” has a sweetness reminiscent of Simone’s great “Another Likely Story” (QRO video).
As long as it doesn’t mean Forster says Au Revoir to Simone (forgive the obvious pun…), as Erika Spring on Erika Spring she’s nicely getting her own voice without abandoning what brought you to her.
MP3 Stream: “Happy At Your Gate“
