The two song, uber lo-fi debut demo from Katie Capri’s brainchild, Fern Mayo, might have been a blip on the music radar of 2014 (even though the band made our Best of NYC list that year), leaving early lovers desperately in need of more. The October release of the (now) trio’s Happy Forever EP (streaming below), further honed a craft of raw emotionality and glum combined with surfy melodic grooves, while exploring sudden rhythmic changes and fuzzy chord rage. The addition of bassist Nicholas Cummins’ moody backing, and Charlie Bueno’s raw but eclectic drumming contribute to a sound that’s now more full and mature. The seven song EP (plenty of bang for your buck here) rips through the human psyche of want and loss, hammered home in Capri’s harrowing wails, “we’re all just trying to be happy here,” on the track, “Chomping at the Bit.” Their recordings place all focus on the feelings derived from instruments and voice, though one can only imagine the increased intensity of a live performance – and they’ve been doing a lot of that this year, as recently noted by OhMyRockness. You can see Fern Mayo at Silent Barn on January 14th. –JP Basileo
