79.5 Sing of Strength and Vulnerability with “Sisters Unarmed” (premiere)

New York City sextet 79.5 named themselves for an imagined radio frequency off the far edge of the FM spectrum, but their homespun gold sounds aren’t fringe. Their debut album, Predictions, out September 28th on Brooklyn’s Big Crown Records, evokes the warmth and allure of yesteryear hits without catering to era nostalgia. Part of how they achieve this is by leaving open space where the more common impulse might be to overfill. The expert three-part harmonies between vocalists Nya Parker Brown, Piya Malik, and founder/keyboardist Kate Mattison are 79.5’s most upfront asset, but the mix on Predictions gives breathing room to all of them, as well as Izaak Mills’ sax and flute hooks, Adrienne Hailey’s bass anchors, and Raymond McNaught’s intuitive beats.

Predictions was produced by Leon Michels of El Michels Affair (and co-founder of Big Crown) and recorded to analog tape at the Diamond Mine in Queens. “Sisters Unarmed”, the penultimate track on the album, is, per the band’s press release, a “politically charged number about how to stand up for equality yet hold on to your gentleness as a person, and specifically as a woman in today’s world”. Among the usual LP/CD/digital formats, the record is also available on limited edition hot pink vinyl. The release show for Predictions happens this Thursday, September 27th, at Nublu in New York City, with Holy Hive and DJ sets from Danny Akalepse and Chances with Wolves.