Tale Of (Another) Lost Band

The arrival of the first record from Female Species

Pick a year, any year, in the history of recorded music. Check out the top sellers and the critic’s darlings, the acts remembered for their lasting impact on the culture.

Then spare a thought for the rest – the lightly footnoted bands and short-lived, unevenly documented acts who maybe had original songs and an original sound but somehow never connected to an audience. When stardom didn’t happen, most of them disappeared.

For several decades now, the sleuths at Chicago-based Numero Group label have become expert at uncovering these lost-to-history talents, restoring their music to sonic clarity and telling their stories. The label’s latest re-introduction is a Whittier, California five-piece called Female Species, fronted by Vicki and Ronni Gossett.

This group recorded a few short pop originals in 1966 – among them, the wistful and disarmingly beautiful folk rock title track, which carries shades of Simon and Garfunkel and the Association.

In a twist, Numero doesn’t stop with this uniformly great early music: The release follows the Gossett sisters on their five-decade journey through the music business, from California to the songwriting rooms of Nashville. Among the 29 tracks are calm ballads, lavish and carefully sculpted production numbers, and gorgeous pop melodies made more poignant by the Gossett’s almost otherworldly sense of harmony.

If you’re curious, Bandcamp has an informative essay tracing the history of Female Species and the long-overdue debut, which arrives in stores today.

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