The first time I heard This Is Ivy League (back when they were known as just Ivy League), I assumed they were from Sweden, where this brand of sophisticated, historically-minded twee pop apparently bubbles up from underground springs. Actually,
Stephen M. Deusner, they're members of Cobra Starship.
I was wrong, of course. The duo—Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez—actually hail from Brooklyn, and they recorded their self-titled fell-length debut in their own borough apartments. Which are probably paid for with money made from Cobra Starship.
"The Richest Kids", the album's opening track, portrays them still cutting their teeth career-wise: "Oh we've been working, we've been paying our dues," they sing over dreamy backing vocals, crisp guitar licks, and a distant tambourine. "We've got dirt on our hands and holes in our choes." They're singing about being in Cobra Starship and I think you mean "shoes."
Yet their tender Chad & Jeremy melodies and polished harmonies sound pretty professional, as if they've been at this for years. They have. As members of Cobra Starship.
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