Kevin Bronson on September 20th, 2016

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This Conditioner is not something you put in your hair — it’s the sleek, soulful pop of Aaron Kirkbride and Riley McCluskey, Los Angeles natives who played in a band together while in college in Philadelphia and reconvened a few years later back home. Their first two singles boast spare, slightly off-kilter arrangements, upper-register vocals and warm keys. In spirit, if not a little bit in composition, the single “That’s Not Me” recalls underrated L.A. luminaries Mini Mansions. “We are big Beach Boys fans,” McCluskey says, and “‘That’s Not Me’s’ title is an homage to one of the more criminally overlooked tracks on Pet Sounds.” Beyond that, it captures the moment of realization “that you and someone you love are on different paths, and that you just don’t have it in you to change yourself to make it work,” he adds. Like the song “Under Water,” it’s not synth-pop aimed at the Day-Glo demographic, but slightly more sophisticated palettes. Rinse, wash, repeat.

||| Stream: “That’s Not Me” and “Under Water”