King Con

Personnel: Jacyln Jurist, Janet Passanante, The Sister Wives, Sara Kliger (background vocals).
Recording information: HeavyRoc Studios, China Town, NY; Mission Sound, Brooklyn, NY; Snap Studios; Temper Hill, Detroit; The Dairy.
The full-length follow-up to her 2011 debut EP Sister Wife, 2012's King Con features more of singer/songwriter Alex Winston's buoyant, technicolor psych and folk-influenced pop. A opera-trained vocalist, the Michigan-born Winston came off as a kind of cherubic indie rock Kate Bush on Sister Wife, and King Con does nothing if not reinforce this notion. These are meticulously crafted, gargantuanly melodic songs that frame Winston's fairy siren of a voice with swirling, sparkling productions (via the Knocks) rife with bells and keyboards, shimmering guitar bits, and veritable marching bands of rhythm. While a few tracks carry over from Sister Wife, including the title track, the '60s girl group-sounding "Choice Notes," and the yearning "Locomotive," listeners also get more than few hummable, immediately catchy numbers like the swoony "Velvet Elvis" and the wide-eyed and cinematic "Medicine." While the album title suggests that Winston's talents may be less than genuine, King Con is never anything less than truly inspired. ~ Matt Collar