Ladybug Transistor

In April, Brooklyn indie-rock outfit The Ladybug Transistor lost their drummer, San Fadyl, when he suffered asthma-related complications at his home in Zurich, Switzerland. Though the band's sixth album, Can't Wait Another Day, had been conceived before Fadyl's passing, it's easy to interpret this powerfully unsentimental work as a eulogy to him. Even the songs that don't directly deal with death or depression explore the sister emotions of longing and regret. Take "Terry": "All these worthless nights tossing dice/Tell me please cause I can't wait another day on you/Tell me please cause I can't waste another day on you." Although Can't Wait Another Day embraces the stylistic ethos of Elephant 6 affiliates Neutral Milk Hotel by burying dark themes below simple melodies and sing-along choruses, The Ladybug Transistor's sound lacks the rough edges of Neutral Milk Hotel, instead mirroring the clean vocals and driving melodies of Merge Records labelmates The Essex Green. Despite its dour lyrics, Can't Wait Another Day somehow brims with yearning and hope. Fadyl wouldn't have wanted it any other way.