Free Advice offers a somber-yet-uplifting take on sobered dream pop. Imagine if Galaxie 500’s On Fire didn’t have a guitar solo or if The Trinity Session was stripped of its folk & blues roots; it’s just pure mood. Like sitting in a half-empty movie theater that’s playing Alphaville or Wild Strawberries and watching patron’s heads briefly illuminated from the screen; Free Advice (and all of the CINDY output) transfers you to these momentary worlds. CINDY is KARINA GILL on guitar/vocals, AARON DIKO on synth/keys, SIMON PHILLIPS drums/percussion, and JESSE JACKSON on bass/keys, plus Simon and Jesse on backing vocals. The songs on Free Advice are these moments in mood: Phillips & Jackson’s rhythms create the foundation, while Diko’s keys rise and fall. Gill’s guitar rattles, vocals brood, and lyrics create these narratives that depict observers, not necessarily wronged rather, cautious and investigative of the world around them.

“…Others have mentioned Galaxie 500 in reference to this, but this is bleaker in tone, more quizzical, maybe closer to Low’s harrowing take on slowcore. The vocals are intoned, murmured while the music moves steady and minimal behind it. The occasional loopy synth sound rises up in the mix, but it’s all very restrained.”—Glenn Donaldson, Freeform Freakout