Barrie are the indie scene’s poster children for diversity.

Originally hailing from Boston, Baltimore, upstate New York, London, and São Paulo respectively, the technically Brooklyn-based band are a melting pot of agreeably dissimilar dreamers. In fact, their dissimilarities are arguably their strong suits. Frontwoman Barrie Lindsay told Winspear “The scaffolding of this album is moving to New York and finding these people that make up the band. We’re very different, but we cover each other’s gaps personally and creatively, and are eager to learn from each other.”

So what magnetic force drew Barrie together from different corners the world? Among other things, Lindsay told Paste Magazine that they were united by a common love for “a well-crafted pop song that’s a little bit fucked up.”

As silly as that sounds, their debut Happy to Be Here is nothing short of triumphant. It’s a psychedelic indie-pop fantasy spun to look like an 80’s-inspired tropical adventure. Light yet spirited synths, ruminative bass, uncomplicated guitar patterns, modular drum progressions, and effortlessly beautiful harmonies are meticulously arranged to emulate a spellbinding hallucination. The album is mathematical in its trippy composition, thoughtful in it’s genre-crossing accessibility, and captivating in it’s genuine singularity, leaving indie fans struggling to stop the drool from running down their mesmerized faces.

Sounds exhausting doesn’t it? Think again – Happy to Be Here is as easy-listening as synth-pop gets. It’s got all the puzzle pieces of an exuberant, disco-centric 80’s pop hit, but with those pieces rearranged to form a more melodic, emotionally sedating soundtrack to an enlightening daydream.

For a collective of unlike parts providentially finding each to form such an uber-satisfying debut, the title Happy to Be Here is both endearing and retrospectively too humble for Barrie. The inaugural product cultivated through Barrie’s diversity is an incredibly encouraging sign that their creative capabilities will only be magnified as they continue to experiment and mesh over the coming years.

Favorite Tracks: Geology, Darjeering, Clovers, Chinatown, Dark Tropical