The Belle Brigade

Album Review

In L.A.’s pop music scene, the influence of Fleetwood Mac is rarely more than a vocal harmony away. It’s uncommonly (but not offensively) close on Belle Brigade’s debut, a collection of sunny pop songs that take their cues from the “California sound” of yesteryear. Fronted by the brother/sister combo Ethan and Barbara Gruska, the group blows through 11 tunes in an economical 39 minutes, evoking everyone from CSNY to Linda Ronstadt along the way. The siblings harmonize the way family members often do, flanking each other’s melodies during the verses and double-tracking their voices into thick chords during the choruses. With help from a rotating roster of backup musicians — mostly Barbara’s cohorts from her days as a touring drummer for Inara George and Jenny Lewis — the siblings cast a wide net, riding a country-rock groove on “My Goodness” and resurrecting the breezy charm of Rumours-era Lindsey Buckingham on “Where Not to Look for Freedom” before drifting into the Los Angeles smog with the album’s hazy closer, “Fasten You to Me.” Like Jenny and Johnny, another SoCal harmony duo, they rarely sing without the other person’s help, and this pastoral pop record sparkles whenever the two lock together in close harmony.