It gets very clear, very early on Strawberry Moon that Erro are a group with a delightfully eccentric sound. With their juicy, acoustic arrangements and moving chord sequences, the 11 songs found on Strawberry Moon are wholly gripping and distinct, showcasing a group of musicians enamored by their craft.
Erro are a musical ensemble hailing from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Fronted by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Nikki Stagel, the group also features 6 more talented individuals with fairly fluid roles within the band, with players sharing roles on the drums, the bass, pianos, and vocals. The result is songs that sound communal and lively, especially with the ethereal reverbs and chorusing effect applied to the vocal tracks throughout the album. This liveliness does not readily translate into a suburban clamor like on Arcade Fire’s similarly ambitious indie beginnings. Instead, Erro’s approach remains steady throughout the album, showing considerable musical maturity from the very beginning of the album, and of their career.
The group was started in 2019 by Stagel as an outlet for her singing, strumming, and her songwriting, but has since steadily evolved into a creative powerhouse for all members of the group, and the creativity is crowned by the release of their debut full length album. Among the album’s very pretty songs, the titular introduction ‘Strawberry Moon’ stands out. An amazing introduction to the acoustic, dynamically varying, and melodious nature of Erro’s sound, the song does an outstanding job in establishing the sound that is going to be thoroughly explored through the rest of the songs. A vintage, REM-esque sound that’s heartwarming and gripping.
‘Come In Slow’ is another melodic stunner. Perhaps the first song that benefits from the established sonic foothold of Erro. The third song on the record is confident, colorful, and full of character. The reverberated, layered vocal tracks, dynamic, acoustic beats, and the driving momentum make ‘Come In Slow’ one of the album’s earlier highlights. ‘Red Dragon Purple Wing’ follows with another immediate winner. With a quirky layer of percussion and a peppy, upbeat composition, the mid-tempo song moves along at a leisurely and soothing pace, and with a few layers of melodic synths, it is probably the first song on the album that showcases brilliance from Erro in the form of electronic instrumentation. A pleasant showstopper.
‘La Mia Dea 2.0’ is Erro revisiting a previously released single of theirs. The 2.0 version is a delightfully playful indie pop piece with one more immediately catchy layer of percussive riffing that I suspect is now courtesy of an electric guitar playing harmonics. Not sure but it does not matter, ‘La Mia Dea 2.0’ is a jubilant and busty piece of extremely engaging communal music. ‘Holding On’ is a soulful piece of acoustic pop with a few exquisite guitar lines playing alongside whistling melodies and a very mildly paced piece of pop songwriting. For such a compositionally simple song, ‘Holding On’ showcases the importance of a dynamic and intricate arrangement in gluing a few ideas together, making them relevant, fresh, and engaging, while largely unchanging, for an entire 5 and a half minutes of length.
Nikki and her colorful ensemble Erro, composed of Michael, Aparna, Emma, Mike, Alex, and Nathan provide with their characterful songs a bridge between alternative folk, art and chamber pop, indie rock, and americana. The genre hopping group have tight musicianship running throughout the album, creating engaging performances, and with mixing and mastering done by Matt Very of Very Tight Recordings in their native Pittsburgh, the results are indeed really tight. Strawberry Moon is a simply beautiful listen.
