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Browsing Craigslist advertisements can be hit or miss. For the three musicians in San Francisco’s The Interchangeable Hearts, however, finding each other via the popular website may have been a priceless blessing, evidenced in their debut six-song EP, ironically titled Lost. Lina Hancock’s seductive vocals couple with rich melodies and arrangements as intricate as the heart itself to create a smooth feel throughout, while all of these unique parts keep the band beating strong. Most importantly, the new trio accomplishes this without exhibiting a forced complexity. Appropriately introducing the album is one of its standout tracks, “Now That I’m Gone,” which begins with fluid bass and organ instrumentation and stark vocals, and gives way to a memorable chorus that highlights the perils of relationships and unrequited love. Hancock proclaims passionately, “We can’t be together / But I will love you forever / Try to understand.” Hancock’s hypnotic delivery impressively parallels that of Neko Case, Chan Marshall and Hope Sandoval, yet remains distinctly her own. Throughout the rest of the EP, the songs are noticeably well-written and have an eerie yet delicate feel to them, highlighted best in “Maze.” Another notable track, “On My Knees” is an up-tempo offering with an appealing piano lead and a solid breakdown that keeps with the relationship theme with the lines “You won’t get out of my mind / I dream about you every night / And that ain’t right.” Overall, the release establishes The Interchangeable Hearts’ presence in the Bay Area music scene with solid indie-pop splendor. Call off the search! In Lost, the three musicians seeking out a band may have found what they were looking for — and a whole lot more. (Zeitgeist Rekords)

By Todd Lavoie Losing oneself isn't necessarily something to shy away from; in the case of the debut EP from San Francisco trio Interchangeable Hearts, such an outcome should probably be welcomed. Fronted by the coolly unhurried vocals of Lina Hancock, the three-piece arrives well-versed in matching stark atmospherics with melancholic ruminations on matters of love, at times recalling Midnight Movies at their most minimal or Sub Pop-era Saint Etienne at their most somber. "Now That I'm Gone" is a captivating opening statement, starting off with a ghostly slink of haunted-house organ and sumptuously detached vocals before spinning itself into hi-hat- and bubble-bass-driven disco release, with Hancock achieving a curious blend of resignation and euphoria in her dancefloor declaration, "All the stars in the sky and the light in my eyes/it makes me fall apart." Fluid bass lines and weightless organ whirrs also largely inform the engrossingly floatable handclap-funk of "March," and the elegant balladry of "Be Mine" glides along with a tearful melody and stately piano worthy of Burt Bacharach - think Ivy without the French-accented vocals. "Maze" offers the Interchangeable Hearts at their most spooked-out, thanks to the billowing puffs of organ which keep the song hovering somewhere in the ether. Top marks, however, go to "On My Knees," a coy tempo-shifter buoyed by Hancock's taunting chorus of "look me in the eyes and make me remember you."