''¡Simpatico!'' is the second album by

Velocity Girl Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. The band reunited for a one-off concert in 2002 and f ...

. It was released in June 1994. Compared to the band's debut album ''Copacetic'', ''¡Simpatico!'' showed more traditional indie pop/ power pop influences, rather than noisy

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

tendencies. "Sorry Again" was released as a single (via a CD EP with three non-album tracks, and a 7" with one non-album track). "What You Left Behind" features rare male lead vocals.

Production

The album was recorded at Cue Studios in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...

, from December 27, 1993, to Jan 15, 1994. It was produced by John Porter.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that "the group manages to mop up the garage-band spills to reveal simple melodic constructions without washing away the music's defining layers." ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote that ''¡Simpatico!'' "has some great tunes but less of the atmosphere that makes the first album so riveting." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' wrote: "Cleaner sounding and better focused, ''Simpatico!'' leaves behind the cacophonous lullabies of the band's early sound, largely derived from the dream-pop of such British bands as My Bloody Valentine." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called the album "classically styled near-British pop." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' deemed it "pleasant to the point of blandness," writing that "''!Simpatico!'' is like a grungy Cranberries — without the hits."

Track listing

# "Sorry Again" # "There's Only One Thing Left to Say" # "Tripping Wires" # "I Can't Stop Smiling" # "The All-Consumer" # "Drug Girls" # "Rubble" # "Labrador" # "Hey You, Get Off My Moon" # "Medio Core" # "What You Left Behind" # "Wake Up, I'm Leaving"

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Velocity Girl albums Sub Pop albums