Class Actress is an ’80s-inspired Brooklyn three-piece that reveres the best of that decade’s style and substance. Marrying sultry vocals to beats sampled from its members’ favorite new-wave records, the band manages to navigate a saturated genre without falling prey to myopic hipster whimsy, instead achieving real depth through Elizabeth Harper’s lovelorn, intimate tales. This duplicity plays out elegantly in the Patrick Cleandenim-directed video for “Journal Of Ardency,” as the provocative pull of Harper’s boudoir tease counters the search for a lover’s validation in the song’s lyrics. Though rife with fantasy, the result is satisfyingly realistic. “Journal Of Ardency” comes from the debut EP of the same name, available now from Terrible Records, which is owned by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. Class Actress is currently on a SXSW-bound tour with Little Boots.
