These Albums Deserve Your Attention: Yumi Zouma - Truth or Consequences

There is something to be said for a band that isn't trying to reinvent the wheel but is excellent at picking a lane. Yumi Zouma has delivered Truth or Consequences, their third album of indie-pop bliss, and have only gotten better at perfecting their sound.

Yumi Zouma formed after the fallout from the Christchurch earthquake in 2011 when members of the New Zealand band moved to various locations abroad and started writing songs over email (The Postal Service for a new era).

Fittingly named after the New Mexico town, Truth or Consequences sounds like a low desert sunny haze full of melodies sung into the bathroom mirror. Always danceable but never clubby, the album is most successful when singers Christie Simpson and Josh Burgess combine their vocal talents. On tracks like "Right Track / Wrong Man" and "Southwark," their vocal interplay comes together reminiscent of Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell of Stars.

In such a turbulent year, the albums that have brought me the most joy are the ones that can be put on in the backyard for escapism, and Yumi Zouma has provided the warm electropop blanket I've been seeking.

I'm curious to see where Yumi Zouma goes next, but sometimes the ears need comfort food.

For fans of: Japanese Breakfast, Jay Som, 80's Fleetwood Mac

Truth or Consequences is available now via Polyvinyl.