Boy Is Ingrid Michaelson On Message

Anybody remember Gary Numan's "Cars"? That 1979 Top 10 hit was as cold and clinical as a surgeon's operating table. For its time it was the perfect introduction to the futuristic sounds that would end up sparking the technological side of the New Romantic movement of music, a movement that claims Duran Duran among its charter members. If you transplant the no bones about it language of that song into a 2014 accounting of the very time honored rituals of girls chasing boys because they can't get enough of a pretty face then the engaging little stinker you'd be receiving for your hard fought dollar would be "Girls Chase Boys" the latest from Ingrid Michaelson, an indie pop artist from Staten Island, New York. New York being the bustling metropolis to top all bustling metropolises you know more that a few broken hearts have been strewn to the wind. Ingrid's waffle free message is "Hearts do get broken. Let's try not to break down into high stress high stakes histrionics shall we. Girls chase boys. Always have. Always will. Let's move on and see if we can't better our status in the Cupid tinged ozone? Note for note Ingrid stomps along, a woman on a mission she's darned well going to succeed in executing. Minimalist tapestry weaving is a smart choice of accessorizing in this case. Had this song been more wedded to the messiness of love instead of the commitment to at least taking a stab at a clean break, it would not have left behind quite the same sharp impact. Be it piano, drums, keyboards, or vocals, Ingrid applies seasonings calculatingly, never once spoiling the broth with an overly generous spice. Ingrid is right up in her apparently now ex-lover's face insisting that they don't make things harder than they have to be. Ingrid's down but the tank doesn't read empty yet. Any of us would be justified in assuming "Girls Chase Boys" qualifies as an amusing paint by numbers exercise. Listen to how the framework locks in place. Ingrid knows how to make controlled chaos sound like that was her none too fiendish plan all the time. The backing drummer constitutes the easel holding her nascent artwork together. First comes a solitary piano note, then keyboards, and back again. Surfing atop the billowing wave is Ingrid, finger pointing at Romeo, laying down the law, laying it down with a quirkiness suitable to the tangled predicament she's trying to help them escape from. If "Cars" uses the fascination with automation as its focus, "Girls Chase Boys" zeroes in on the ABCs of being in love. The edges of her voice in stating her case are no slouch in comparison to the robotic manner Gary shared his tech-juiced mania with us. Daylight's burning. Let's keep the parade marching. No cosmic aura needlessly sacrificed on the altar of a meet cute that's quickly losing its cuteness. They're equally to blame because they tug on each other's heartstrings to hear the taut rhythms that result. In April her new "Lights Out" album sees the light of day. Ingrid demonstrates with its lead-off single that she doesn't hold onto her boy toys any longer than necessary. Get out those binoculars and prepare to delight in the unabashed bedroom window voyeurism.