A flashback to pop melodicism wholly removed from rock influence, the catchy simplicity and soft edges of this New York band’s debut album, Realistic, and its five-song EP Lately (both released on Seed) parallel the synth-washed pop grandeur of England’s Saint Etienne: both acts clearly revel in sunny, weightless melodies like the ones Petula Clark used to sing. Dominique Durand’s appealingly troubled pronunciation of English–like that of Stereolab’s French chanteuse Laetitia Sadier–adds to the breezy artifice. Guitarist Andy Chase lifts the strummy, repetitive figures that wrapped around Lou Reed’s spare melodies on The Velvet Underground, albeit without a trace of the underlying tension that transported VU to a higher level. Ivy make nice, hummable, and overtly gentle pop tunes. Nothing more, little less. Friday, 8:30 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport; 525-2508. Saturday, 7 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark; 549-0203.
