Sylvan Esso SYLVAN ESSO

The eponymous debut album from the Durham, North Carolina duo of Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, the former a soulful crooner and songwriter best known as a member of Appalachian indie folk trio Mountain Man and the latter a talented electronic producer and bass player for country-psych rockers Megafaun, couldn't sound any further from the duo's flagship projects. Emitting a heady and evocative blend of breezy, late-night laptop-pop and glitchy metropolitan folk, Sylvan Esso's sophisticated confections fall somewhere between the fractured tabletop buzz of Tune-Yards and the breezy indie pop cinematics of Feist. Standout cuts like "Hey Mami," "H.S.K.T.," and "Coffee" are a tad dark, a bit sexy, and undeniably hypnotic, but they're also accessible (and surprisingly danceable), due in large part to the duo's Southern locale and Meath's laid-back delivery and penchant for penning coy and colorful lyrics. Elsewhere, the seductive "Dreamy Bruises" prowls about on a sleek, arpeggiated Grimes-a