Meagan Grandall and Kendra Cox make up the gentle dream-pop duo Lemolo. The name is derived from a street in their hometown of Poulsbo called Lemolo Shore Drive. The street is apparently loaded with personal memories for the pair, plus Lemolo means “wild and untamed” in Chinook jargon, so that’s kinda cool.
Lemolo’s music, though, is anything but wild and untamed, a gentle brand of synth-pop that shimmers with sincerity. They’ve scarcely got any tunes out in the open right now, though they’re working on a full length at the moment. For now all we’ve got to hear is the fittingly named “Singles Record”, a short-but-sweet affair consisting of only two tracks. The first, “Whale Song”, is a drifting, synthy tune written for Grandall’s six year old neighbour.
The vocals are appropriately whimsical – “We were out walking the dogs, all of us/ The rabbits wore dresses and all talked a lot”, with perhaps a tinge of envy for the innocence of childhood: the song’s protagonist, presumably said six year old “sees the world the way she wants.” “Open Air”, the second of the singles on “The Singles Record”, is even more sparse, a sensitive number that relies on little more than a piano and Grandall and Cox’s beautifully merging vocals for propulsion.
Perusing Lemolo’s Facebook page I couldn’t help but notice photos of their recent live performances, I’m thinking these two, that suggest this pair have a little more oomf than their recorded work shows off right now, so I’m looking forward to hearing how Lemolo’s first full length balances the fragility displayed so far with the group’s live spark. For now, stream “The Singles Record” below and head over to KEXP for an interview with Lemolo from earlier this year.
