Joan of Arc Awaiting Trial

Joan of Arc Awaiting Trial easily sounds like it could have been released in the mid- to late-'80s. On the strength of this four-song disc, New York's My Favorite may have toured with New Order or the Smiths. The band had been leading the new new wave since 1999's Love at Absolute Zero. They cemented their place in synth pop history with this disc, the first of a three-CD series. Michael Grace Jr. has always been the guiding force behind My Favorite. The disc begins with Grace's deliberate piano and his confident vocals on "LP." Andrea Vaughn takes the vocal lead on "Homeless Club Kids." Darren Amadio adds a wealth of guitar, synthesizers, and vocoder to the mix, while Gil Abad adds bass. The mysterious Todbot (most likely a drum machine) rounds out the lineup. Grace is back in the vocal chair on "Badge." The disc ends with Vaughn taking back the vocal lead on the blips and bleeps of "White Roses for Blue Girls." Guest musicians include Tara Emelye Needham on rhythm guitar and Vika Pananyuk on violin. The disc was recorded at Paris Studio at Lake Ronkonkama, NY, and was released by Double Agent Records in Fall 2000. In the end, Joan of Arc Awaiting Trial is a passionate and sincere attempt to reconnect with the warm sounds of 1980s pop.