Florida-based indie duo SALES (guitarist/producer Jordan Shih and vocalist/guitarist Lauren Morgan) recently released "Off and On", a standalone single that follows last September's "Talk A Lot". It also brings the promise of a new album (their sophomore effort) that should be released by 31st August this year. Their first track of the year serves as a pleasant reminder of their enchantingly wistful and intimate brand of confessional guitar pop.
Morgan's dulcet vocals are more subdued this time around, but she manages to present yet another delicate rendering of yearning and melancholy. The song's title refers to her inability to establish a stable relationship with a former lover. She does not solely blame him for this predicament, however: 'Circle around a hometown/ You once knew that you'd never regret/ That you left/ Is it just our indifference, or the distance/ That keeps us on this path?'
The track's upbeat guitars and humming bass leave you in a warm daydream, making it all too easy to overlook Morgan's breezy confession that she 'Fell right down the stairs' (we hope she was not being literal here). The single artwork depicts the intricate pattern of illumination that a light filtering shade casts on a lavender wall: an apt visual metaphor for the song's subtle fluctuations in mood and message. Morgan's vocals are enhanced by an echo effect after she reaches a pessimistic conclusion ('Outta sight, outta mind/ You'll ignore all the signs') as she sings 'How do you like me now?' It seems to serve as a provocation and a revelation of desperation. If it is addressed to SALES' growing audience, the answer would surely be 'very much'.
