Ripe 4 Luv cleverly pays homage to a rich history of American pop music without forgetting the complex realities of 2015.

[xrr rating=3.0/5]When does consistency stop being the virtue of the humble and start being, well, boring? Since the late 1980s, the legendary DC/Bay Area indie label Slumberland has toed that line so often, it’s not always clear they know it’s there. You have to know what you’re getting into with a Slumberland release: it’s winsome, clever, pigeon-toed Anglophile indie pop …

[xrr rating=3.75/5]After meeting in a London vintage shoe shop, Argentinian Max Claps and Veronica Falls’ Andrew Hoare formed the Proper Ornaments, appropriately signed to Slumberland. Their debut, Wooden Head, features 14 measured, woozy and catchy songs. Modestly but insistently, they burrow in. The earworm opener, “Gone,” mumbles its lament, over stumbling guitars and a shuffling beat. Vocals recall the British …

[xrr rating=3.25/5]It seems the Pains of Being Pure at Heart grew dissatisfied with being the Pains of Being Pure at Heart almost immediately. Their 2009 self-titled LP was about as perfectly formed as debut albums get, instantly mastering a certain tone of fuzzy twee mixed with bright, jangly guitars. It was as though the band had emerged fully formed to …