Since releasing their 2016 LP New Futures, Candace (formerly known as Is/Is) has been hard at work on a follow-up, New Ruins. Listening to the Minneapolis-born, Portland-based trio’s latest nine-track offering, it doesn’t take long to figure out which direction Sarah Nienaber (guitar/bass/vocals), Sarah Rose (guitar/bass/vocals), and Mara Appel DesLauriers (drums/vocals) are taking their acid-washed pop.
Opening track “Sunlight” is perhaps the best possible introduction to Candace, masters of the sweetly delivered head-nodding rocker. And despite the inherent gloominess of New Ruins, songs like “Rewind” prove Candace is capable of festooning their moody pop with enough uplifting crescendos and cascading layers to balance everything out.