Don’t judge this duo by their age

Late July at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Block party maybe 1,000 people hung in front of the main stage early on Saturday afternoon. A good third bounced joyously to the sunshiny pop rolling out of the speakers. The rest had a half-pleased, half-er-what-is-this look on their faces.

“You guys rock,” someone called out, almost more as a question.

Well, that’s about a quarter-right, give or take. Sisters Asya and Chloe — keyboards and drums — aren’t guys. And their music, while energetic and poppy as all get-out, is comprised of keyboards and drums. It’s not really rock per se, though it does sometimes.

The quick legend, as it were: Asya was a prodigy, who’s been playing keyboards since she was two. Much later, but not much later, the sisters were at a music store looking at some instruments and the pair wandered into the percussion room where they met Jason McGerr — the Death Cab for Cutie drummer who was working there. They later wrote and recorded an album. Then a second: the exuberant “Free to Stay.”

Here’s the thing: Asya is 14. Chloe is 12.

If you write Smoosh off as a novelty act that’s your problem.

It’s tempting to say that the duo made a record mature beyond their years. Which is a trite, shorthand way of describing it. It’s well played, with clever use of dynamics and memorable melodies. But it is also definitively youthful in it’s outlook — unfailingly, bracingly pathos and irony-free. 

On the ringers, such as on the single “Find a Way” the duo can sound like Juliana Hatfield. More pensive numbers like the title track are guileless, head-screwed-on-right Tori Amos (yeah, it’s possible, they pull it off). When they split the difference, such as on “Clap On” they wind up recording one of the best Death Cab demos you’ve never heard.

At the very least it’s an album Fiona Apple might want to put on so she could have something to smile about, and, maybe get some perspective. On “Find A Way,” they sing, “You got too much on your hands now take a rest now you can’t handle it all / Gotta give yourself time now give yourself time now / Find a way, figure you out, find yourself, trying again.”

We could all use a deep breath sometimes.

“We’re like indie pop-rock,” Asya says, offering that by way of influences for the pair “There’s not a real obvious influence. Maybe Sleater-Kinney or Death Cab for Cutie.”

This from someone who has opened for both those bands as well as Eels, Presidents of the United States of America and Jimmy Eat World, and played on bills with Pearl Jam and Cat Power.

“I never really thought I’d be going to Australia, but we did and it was cool,” she says of some favorite stops so far. “I really liked playing in Paris. The crowd was really good and they clapped and stuff.”

Their career is moving at a pretty relaxed pace. School is in season right now and that limits performing and touring options.

“A lot of time during the school season it’s hard. So we’ll mostly practice before a tour. If we have time we’ll go down and practice when we feel like it. But that’s not every day. Not at all.

“I could see us adding other musicians, like a bass player maybe. To bring in new ideas and stuff. But right now it’s hard to add people because most kids can’t travel with school.”

One would think sisters of any age would have trouble being in a band together. But Asya says the two get along and there are few musical differences. She writes most of the skeletons of the songs with input from Chloe. It’s a mostly harmonious process.

“Of course we argue sometimes because we’re sisters, but we don’t hate each other or anything.”

Does she think the duo have anything in common with the JoJo’s and other teen pop acts of the world?

“I guess we have some stuff in common. I mean we both like to perform and stuff. But our types of music are totally different,” she says.

“[It’s] the way we write our songs and stuff. They’re more of just performers and we’re musicians. I wouldn’t be able to call myself an artist if I didn’t write songs or play anything.”

She acknowledges age is going to be an issue. And probably should be.

“It doesn’t matter. I’d want people to like our music because they like it. Not because we’re young. Though they should take it into consideration. We probably wouldn’t be as good if we were older.

“Our music is good for our age. But if we were 20, we’d be too old to be playing this kind of music … I think I could definitely be a better songwriter.”

Find out more about Smoosh on the Web at: http://www.smoosh.com/.

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