Rex Garfield's wee-girl vocal on "In Amsterdam," set against a quiet backdrop of keyboards, offers a fitting kickoff to the pop melodies of
Ace of Hearts.
Green Pitch hails from Copenhagen, and Garfield is joined by guitarist-vocalist Ste Rasch. The quiet of "In Amsterdam" and "Slow Down" gives way to a bigger sound on "Reverse," with Garfield and Rasch sharing vocals. But quiet, dreamy pop is more what
Green Pitch is about, and it's the combination of delicate background, Garfield's sweet vocals, and intricate melodies that make
Ace of Hearts a likable, though very mellow, album. The band also likes to slow things down to a snail's pace, as with "Haunted by the Moon" and "New Year Departure," until the song seems to be barely moving it all. This adds fragility to the emotional core of these songs, as though the singer was too sad to pick up the tempo. The alternation between Garfield's solo vocals and her duets with Rasch help keep similarly paced songs from running together, but things work even better when the band throws in a relatively louder song like "Unpredictable, Illogical."
Green Pitch has delivered 35 minutes of solid, enjoyable pop on
Ace of Hearts that will appeal to fans of
Mazzy Star and
Iron & Wine. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.