Doris Stanić has a system. Kerosene Gambler is the new Alley Girl album, following last year’s Peregrine Rambler EP (which we discussed here) and Paradigm Scrambler. The formula seems simple enough: find two words that rhyme, make sure the syllables roughly line up, and call it a record. It sounds like a terrible gimmick, and she recently hinted she might ditch it, but I kinda like it. It feels like an inside joke between her and the audience.

Last year turned Alley Girl, essentially Stanić’s solo home-recording project using a Yamaha MT-50, into something of an underground hype. Kerosene Gambler meets those raised expectations.

Alley Girl’s music has an out-of-time-and-place quality that somehow makes perfect sense for a Dutch-Bosnian human being living in Hollywood Heights. There is a distinctly ’60s feel to timeless pop songs like You Don’t See Me When I Cry. They sound like they could be lost hits from another era, often built around gorgeous melodies, while the lo-fi treatment gives everything a scrappy underground garage-pop edge.

It’s a pretty great compromise, or excuse if you will, for those who like their music rough around the edges but still appreciate a really good pop song when they hear one. And Alley Girl is a pretty great name to captain this particular ship.

At almost a full hour, Kerosene Gambler can initially feel a little overwhelming. Songs start blending into one another while your attention inevitably wanders. Give it some time, though, and the rewards are there. Doris Stanić has a special talent for writing vocal melodies that sound pure, honest, and entirely her own. I’m particularly taken by the underground pop hits that kick off the record, but there’s something to fall in love with in pretty much every song here.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp