Residue, the new Yea-Ming And The Rumours LP, is another stunning display of romance, melancholy, and quiet seduction. It is the fourth album from Yea-Ming Chen and her Bay Area cohorts (this time featuring Ryli bandmates Luke Robbins and Rob Good alongside longtime Rumours member Eóin Galvin), and a worthy follow-up to the wonderfully charming I Can’t Have It All from 2024.

These songs practically beg for black-and-white videos featuring stylishly dressed musicians wandering through beautiful, windswept landscapes with nowhere particular to be. This is jangle with a twang, pop with a wistful ache, Camera Obscura by way of Yo La Tengo. The arrangements are patient and unhurried, allowing lines like “is it a cheap thrill or is it love?” from Cheap Thrill to linger a little longer, and making the following ooohs sound even sweeter.

With Ryli providing an outlet for her more extroverted, rock-oriented side, Yea-Ming leans into introspection and vulnerability here. As always, her voice is a cheat code. Few singers make melancholy sound this inviting. No matter how understated the arrangements become, it unlocks emotional depth, reveals hidden pathways through the songs, and transports you somewhere else entirely. This is perfect staring-out-the-window music. And if your eyes well up during the sequence of Uncommon Dreaming and Fine Afternoon, well, we’re only human, right?

In a fair world, Residue would be a major release from one of pop music’s brightest stars. Yet part of me still likes the idea of Yea-Ming Chen remaining a treasured secret passed between those in the know. Then again, every time she releases a record this good, that becomes a harder position to defend. The best-kept secret in indie pop keeps making a terrible case for remaining one.

Residue is out now on LP and CD at Dandy Boy Records.

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