La Sera | Sees the Light

Ex-Vivian Girl Katy Goodman blazes ahead with her promising solo career.

Most likely to: Hit the (rock) history books..

Sees the Light establishes that ex-Vivian Girl Katy Goodman plans to treat La Sera like a full time gig. The second La Sera release banishes its side project feeling forever (see ya, Kickaball Katy), though it stays true to the gestalt of her self-titled 2011 debut.

The album’s 10 songs are fuzzy little earworms that feel good when they get their hooks into your consciousness, ensuring that Sees the Light is eminently listenable. Goodman sounds like Debbie Harry fronting the Pixies (“How Far We’ve Come Now,” “Break My Heart”), Weezer (“I Can’t Keep You in my Mind”), and the Velvet Underground (“I’m Alone”). Sees the Light nods and curtsies to the Velvet’s “See the Light.”

If Sees the Light was merely a trip down rock ‘n’ roll’s memory lane, there wouldn’t be much worth writing about or listening to. La Sera’s sophomore effort walks the fine line between inspiration and out right imitation. Plus, pop nuggets including “Please Be My Third Eye” take listeners on a retro-infused dream ride in just over two minutes.

On “Love That’s Gone” the lilting melody still isn’t afraid to kick some ass, but the kiss-off happens so gently that it would be easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention: “I know that you’ll be leaving / please be on your way.” Remember to try that line out on the next guy who tries to break your heart.

Goodman recorded Sees the Light in California, and the sun-drenched warmth of the Golden State peak out through her music’s maudlin haze, yet these songs sound just as good on a rainy, grey day, when even the sunniest soul can use a lift. Though she sings, “I’ve done wrong” on “Break My Heart,” it’s tough to find anything wrong with Goodman’s creation.

Watch the video-within-a-video for Sees the Light‘s “Real Boy” and “Drive On” below: