Preview|The Air Inside Our Lungs by Brooklyn Based Indie Pop Band Measure

Written by: Heather Jacks, Music Journalist

If you’re a child of the 80s, (like me) who grew up with Erasure, OMD, Depeche Mode,Spandau Ballet and The Cure, you don’t have to read another word, because you will immediately love “The Air Inside Our Lungs“, by the Brooklyn based band Measure.  But if you were born some time say, when Ronald Reagan wasn’t the president, minimum wage was more than $3.10 an hour and leg warmers weren’t considered retro, then this modern melange of new wave, melancholy dance, alterna-pop, and synth would be dubbed ‘electro-indie‘ or ‘electro-pop‘; (think Feist, Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie).  Either way, it is a beautiful record that is sure to win fans, hearts and awards.

One of the most beautiful things about the album is the voice of singer/songwriter Laura DiStasi.  It’s haunting and mesmerizing, a sensation of crystal clear shards of glass piercing complicated emotions and equally complicated arrangements, all the while making it seem effortless.  Her narrative abilities are well illustrated throughout, atop atmospheric guitar strums and soaring synth laced melodies. Measure, as a band, are equal parts artists and musicians. As musicians they deliver an upfront vocal presentation, awash in full sounding, almost orchestral machinations, without ever sacrificing balance or quality in the process.  As artists, you can feel their very essence woven throughout their work;  their vulnerabilities, hopes, aspirations, fears and dreams are intricately sculpted into every note and every lyric.

The pensively beautiful song, Run,with a haunting piano introduction and powerful delivery of contemplative, poetic lyrics, is a near perfect illustration of the artist/musician balance. Angelic and soft, with enchanting melody and lyrics that speed up and slow down. In a word; Gorgeous.

Make You Love Me–one of the more upbeat tunes, is a great example of a flawlessly executed, affirming, synthpop song. Well crafted and catchy, this is the tune that threw me down the staircase of eighties new wave nostalgia.

I Want You To Know,  is electro-pop at its finest; thought provoking yet bubbly and sweetened with a perfectly placed bouncy bass line.

“The Air Inside Our Lungs“ will cause you to think, to reflect, to consider.  It is music that is deeply personal, encouraging you to experience it on your own terms. You will either appreciate it most on a summer drive with the sun beaming on your face or wrapped in your favorite fuzzy robe on a rainy day, and that’s part of the allure;  it’s an easily identifiable soundtrack to life.  And let’s be honest, with lines such as “All flash and noise, so I close my eyes and say, come on and fill me up with something real or something brave or something,” on the closing track, it’s obvious that is what the album was meant to be.

The independently produced and created eight track album, will be released August 7.

To connect with with Measure, visit them at their site:  http://www.measuremusic.com/