THE CASUAL DEFLECTION of the title Music for Listening to Music To, La Sera's fourth full-length, might read as impersonal or nonchalant. Maybe it is—but even so, on their new record frontwoman Katy Goodman, former bassist of Vivian Girls, and her husband Todd Wisenbaker joyously celebrate making music for music's sake.
Music for Listening to Music To sounds hugely different from the band's previous releases. La Sera's bones haven't changed much from older albums—there's still a healthy balance of blistering guitar-pop love songs and somber dirges to burned-out romances. But they've thrown garage-pop fuzz to the wind—the new record's production is pristine and the guitar riffs are much janglier, while Goodman's voice is unadorned and center stage.
"Ryan Adams produced the album, and that was one of the main things he wanted to change on this record," she says. "He said, 'Your voice should be clearer, and people should be able to hear the lyrics more.'"