Bleachbear, Lost Parade (out now, self-released, bleachbear.bandcamp.com/album/lost-parade)

An all-girl family band comprising 15-year-old Tigerlily Cooley on vocals and guitar, her 14-year-old sister Bird on drums, and their 14-year-old cousin Emiko on bass, Bleachbear will hit you with its heartwarming earnestness. The band plays self-described dream pop and indie folk that recalls the likes of the Dum Dum Girls and The Head and the Heart. The girls recorded Lost Parade, their debut, amid homework, extracurricular activities, and the drama that sometimes comes with being a teen girl. Within its eight songs, singer/songwriter Tigerlily turns the poignancy of being 15 into something productive, progressing along a narrative arc that tackles everything from unrequited love to . . . lost love (it’s all that matters, anyway). The upbeat “Down by the Forest” depicts two young lovers running away together a la Moonrise Kingdom. The album closes with the somber “Stop Holding On,” a track that captures the sad and beautiful pain of falling out of love. What Lost Parade succeeds at best is creating a mood—one that takes the listener back to a time of butterflies, first kisses, and note-passing. With this debut, these precocious teen girls display a command not only of their middle and high school AP courses (a fact confirmed by family member Paul Rich, who produced the record), but of a distinctive musicality as well. D

IANA M. LE