Class Actress – Journal of Ardency EP

I’m not one of those people who “get” Madonna. Sorry, Madonna. I understand that you’re a pioneer and a legend and you single-handedly liberated every woman in the world from the chains of puritanical sexuality, but you just don’t factor into my musical landscape. You can’t win them all, Madonna – live to fight another day. But the important thing is pretending like Madonna is going to read this and care. Just kidding. Actually, the important thing is that my Madonna ignorance is a pretty severe fault. Because, to millions of people the world over, if Michael Jackson was the king of pop, than Madonna is the reigning queen.

One of those millions, apparently, is Elizabeth Harper. A few years ago, she was doing the acoustic guitar in a coffee shop thing. But, after being falling head over heels for Brooklyn producers Mark Richardson and Scott Rosenthall’s vintage pop remixes of her work, the three formed Class Actress. Thus, we have their new EP, Journal of Ardency. The whole thing definitely owes some debts to Depeche Mode and Human League, but Madonna writhes in nun’s habit over every line of each song.

Past Mouseketeers who have credited Madonna as inspiration have done so more as (not yet a) women than as musicians. Class Actress actually has a knack for shoulder shimmying grooves. Harper’s voice, confident and cold, soars in harmonized layers over a disco-lit dance floor, pretty aloof given the dance storm surrounding it.

It’s polished and shiny, lacking most of the sex-n-drugs dirtiness that’s marked indie’s other dance acts. “Careful What You Say” stands out, not only for the twitchy thumps but also for the thin line of melancholy in the chorus. The title track is the most seductive, with rubber band beats bouncing off a modest chorus. Then there’s the puzzling “Let Me Take You Out,” whose Sea and Cake guitar line is not unappealing, but definitely is the square peg to Journal of Ardency’s round hole. Maybe I accidentally downloaded a song from a different band? I don’t think so, but we all make mistakes. Including, it seems, Class Actress.

The gem here, though, is the lyrics. Not so much for poetic word choice, but for general tone. While Journal of Ardency might play like the soundtrack for a night in downtown, Harper’s partying to fill the void in her heart, and she knows it: “you think I’m livin it/ it’s a lie.” If you can get past the shake-your-ass trappings, you’ll hear the broken heart of a woman who’s tired of leaving the club alone.

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