Lovie

When the Dallas all-girl quartet Lovie set out to make their latest seven-song EP, Because Of My Mattress, they had the great idea to recruit top indie producer Dave Fridmann (MGMT). When Fridmann was busy, they enlisted his former right-hand man, Bill Racine (Mates Of State, Rogue Wave) to man the boards at his New York City studio. They took their seven songs and told Racine to work his magic—which is where the trouble starts on this disc.

It's obvious to hear what these ladies were thinking when they employed Racine for the job. They wanted to move away from the pop-punk of their earlier offerings and take their sound in the direction of his specialty—chilled-out space-rock. But the production style simply doesn't match the songs. Each song on this disc is a battle between frenzy and space—and the big winner is frenzy. Most of the songs are suffocated with unnecessary parts.

On the rare occasion that the keyboards pipe down and the vocals are more subtle and spacious, though, some nice moments shine through. On "Make It Last," the rhythm is carried by a sparse Casio drum-loop, and the gritty Vox organ is traded for a smooth "Strawberry Fields" flute that pads the song. The last song, "Mattress," is by far the most spacious, and also the best. The slowed tempo and angelic vocals offer a peaceful ending to a very busy record.

It's a perfect name for the last song, too. Because when you finally get there, your ears need a rest.