I love the 80s: Gerty

Think maybe of Kim Carnes fronting the Cars, or something like that. Gerty is primarily husband and wife team Shirle Hale and David Koslowski making throwback New Wave music that manages to capture the charm and energy of the era with little of the cheesiness. Of course, the cheese is probably part of the charm, but they rarely go overboard. Even when they do ("Lower Moreland", I'm looking at you), it's still fun.

Their latest album, Sweets from the Minibar, was produced by (who else?) Chris Stamey. "Magnastar" features a guitar solo by Mitch Easter, another guy who was making some fine music back in the 80s.

MP3: "Short Drive Home"
MP3: "Magnastar"
MP3: "Lower Moreland"
(from Sweets from the Minibar, Eskimo Kiss 2002. Buy)

The neo-New Wave sound is pretty fully developed on Sweets..., while on the previous album, Two Kisses in a Row the synths aren't quite as well integrated into the songs. "Red Mopar" illustrates the point -- it's a fun song with nice harmonies, but the synth into feels a bit tacked on.

MP3: "Red Mopar"
(from Two Kisses in a Row, Plastique Recording Co. 1999. Buy)

Their earlier incarnation was more straight-ahead indie rock, which is fine but less interesting. Here's a representative track:

MP3: "Martin"
(from Raggedy Aneurysm, Merkin 1996. Buy)