I stopped by The Bowery Poetry Club on Saturday night to check out Sweet Soubrette, a lounge-y indie pop band fronted by singer/songwriter/ukulele playing Ellia Bisker, as they performed an hour-long set in celebration of the release of their second full-length, “Days and Nights.” As I entered the back room, I was greeted by a capacity crowd—Sweet Soubrette has a solid local (Brooklyn, judging by the conversations that I couldn’t help but overhear) following—and as the night went on I felt like I was the only person there that didn’t in some way know someone onstage, which, through the addition of guests throughout the evening, totaled around ten people.
If you’re familiar with the music I tend to write about, you may think that a lounge-y band may not be up my alley. Fair enough, but, really, I appreciate any type of music as long as it is done well. For the most part, Sweet Soubrette was polished. The band, comprised of violin, keys, ukelele, light percussion, and bass, was nearly flawless, tight in delivery as they played love songs and light indie rock. Bisker is the star of the show and she looked the part, dressed in a sequin-covered cocktail dress and with her hair done in a very flapper-esque fashion.
The songs, though, were somewhat inconsistent in quality. Sweet Soubrette shines with sad love songs and when the band decides to pick up the pace a bit—songs that come to mind are “A Lot Like Being Alone”, “Petite Souris” and “Avalanche”—and falls a bit flat when she sings playful/cheeky songs with minimal backing music (“Laws of Conservation” and “Snow White & Rose Red”). Bisker’s voice has a sort of female They Might Be Giants boredom to it, but her music lacks the silliness that made TMBG work; it is most effective with lyrics that are sung quickly and when the songs are more layered, where she finds a natural home in the mix. (She sounds best when she sings in French on the song “Petite Souris” (little mouse), evoking a very Montmartre café vibe, the band adding in glockenspiel to create a nighttime Parisian atmosphere.)
Overall, the show was enjoyable. Sweet Soubrette’s music is easy to tap along to and the addition of backing vocals, extra strings, and a flute throughout the set brought a nice variety to the performance. I have listened to “Days and Nights” and have found it to be quite enjoyable, but am sticking to my guns about the sad love songs and the more uptempo songs being the better tracks in Sweet Soubrette’s repertoire.