Album review: Artsick- "Fingers Crossed"

On their latest, the Bay Area trio put the pop back in indie-pop

Photo: EastbayExpress.com

Note: For this year’s project, I’ve taken on the challenge of reviewing 100 new (to me) records. This is the latest in that series.

Further down I’ve also included a few articles I’ve written recently as part of a writing cohort I’m in.

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Portland Oregon 1992: I was lucky to grow up when I did. In the early '90s, it felt like everyone had a band. And those bands were making great music. I went to a ton of shows in those days (and have the terrible hearing to prove it), and my tastes leaned toward the poppier side; it always felt like an antidote to the world-weariness everywhere else.

Flash forward 30 years, and that's a big part of why Artsick's Fingers Crossed sounds so good. Bay Area scene vets Christina Riley, Mario Hernandez, and Donna Mckean came together to create something that sounds as timely in 2022 as it might've then.