So, I was trying to think of the subject for this week's ROTW and was coming up empty. It's been a bit of a whirlwind this week, and I didn't really give it much thought until last night. Decided to use Discog's randomizer to see what it would give me. Basically, if you have your collection listed on Discogs, it'll pick a random title from your collection for you. It landed on Realistic, Ivy's 1995 debut album.
I remember hearing Get Enough on the radio in 1995 and it took me a little bit to track down the song, but eventually I found the CD at Amoeba. This album was finally pressed on vinyl a couple years ago, in 2023, which I ordered without hesitation.
This album is kinda like a summer afternoon, dreamy and warm. The melodies are catchy, and all the musical parts are exactly where they should be (their studio wizardry will show in subsequent Ivy albums). Apparently Dominique Durand had never sung in a band before, but she sounds great to me, totally fitting that indie/alternative vibe of the mid-90s, with her slight accent giving her a recognizable sound. Her voice plus a couple of pop wizards (Andy Chase and Adam Schlesinger). It just works. Listening to this album really conjures up some of the memories and feelings from back then (in a good way).
If you look them up, the production gets even better with each release. Simply pop perfection. All worth the time. This album, though. Man, these songs hit me at a particular time and hooked me in. It just might be my favorite (Everyday was pretty much my theme song for a while).
Ivy released an album this year (last month, in fact), Traces of You, which uses demos that Adam Schlesinger had recorded. That'll probably be it for the band, though, as Schlesinger died in 2020 due to Covid bullshit.