Now I'm Ready

Born in the midst of a creative surge in the pop-leaning underground, Greek act Keep Shelly in Athens have been a force in the indie world for the last half decade, releasing projects on Cascine, Gorilla vs. Bear label arm Forest Family and British heavyweight Planet Mu. Now, the Athens-based duo arrive on Los Angeles outlet Friends of Friends with the 'Now I'm Ready' LP, their second official LP and their most emotionally mature, sonically adventurous effort to date. At eight songs and 45 minutes, the album strikes a concise, yet imposing figure, each individual effort comprised of enough peaks and valleys to bring the listener to the edge and back again. Lifted off by lead single "Fractals", Now I'm Ready is not your typical indie effort, un-beholden to tempo and style, the album skips across genre tropes with ease, each track guided by producer R??'s singular aesthetic and vocalist Myrtha's unmistakable crescendos. And whether you're locked into a long road trip, careening around a city or looking over the Mediterranean, Keep Shelly in Athens bring an arresting pathos to the proceedings, felt everywhere from the breakbeat-led madness of "Hollow Man" to the ever-building, hypnotic vocal qualities of "Now I'm Ready". It's only the duo's second official LP, but considering their release history on outlets as diverse as Cascine, Forest Family and Planet Mu, it's no surprise that their arrival on Friends of Friends is such an unabated success.