Teardrop Sweetheart

by Stewart MasonNew York indie duo Misha cover the same stylistic ground as seemingly hundreds of bands before them: wispy male-female vocals of occasionally uncertain pitch over largely electronic arrangements of low-key but pretty melodies occasionally underpinned by dancey beats, creating a sound that's light on ear-grabbing hooks but unfailingly pleasantly tuneful. It would take a lot to stand out among all these children of Young Marble Giants and Saint Etienne, and while Misha don't embarrass themselves, neither is Teardrop Sweetheart a particularly memorable or unique album. John Chao takes the majority of the lead vocals, although the duo is most effective on songs like the simply lovely "Summersend" when his partner, Ashley Yao, chimes in. On the album's other high point, "Crystal in Love," the pair trade off, with Chao singing the watery, impressionistic verses in a falsetto oddly akin to John Lennon's cracked, wavering vocals in the early days of the Plastic Ono Band and Yao taking a more assertive lead on the slinky, disco-fied choruses. An album's worth of songs as strong as those two would be an instant classic of the style, but too much of Teardrop Sweetheart is pretty but insubstantial.