“I’ve always been drawn to the darker sides of art and music,” says Little Invisibles vocalist Gina Degnars. “Even back when I started taking piano lessons, when I was seven years old—I always wanted to play the minor chords, not the major ones. There’s a powerful beauty in darkness, I think.”
So there is, from Chopin to Poe to Twilight. And it’s that same dark, powerful beauty that resonates throughout Little Invisibles’ brand of hauntingly melodic alternative pop. With Gina’s aching voice and poignant keyboard at the fore, the band’s epic, sweeping songs rise and swell like waves on a moonlit shore until they crash over the listener like a sea of Byronic heartbreak. Five of these impossibly moving songs—all composed, like the rest of the group’s music, by Gina—make up Closer, Little Invisibles’ stunning debut.
A dramatic unveiling if ever there was, Closer, which Gina co-produced, is a veritable jewel box of wide-screen modern rock. Within: jaw-dropping riches like the opener, “Breathless,” all ghostly piano, soaring vocals, and danceable trip-hop beats; the wounded-but-defiant lament “What Once Was,” the EP’s only piano-less track; and “Headrush,” a sultry duet with co-composer Lance Davis that pulses with heart-beating rhythms and gothic (small g) melodrama.
If it all sounds a bit Jane Eyre, well, then why not? Gina, who’s been through the relationship mill as much as any mature artist, maintains that she’s merely allowing her romantic angst to flower into songs that are beautiful and, ultimately, redemptive and uplifting for those who hear them. “When I’m happy I never go to the piano to write,” says Gina, who holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. “I write first and foremost from emotion, and after a breakup you never have to look far for inspiration. But even then there usually ends up being an element of hope in my songs.”
Raised in a musical family (her brother, Rich Degnars, is Little Invisibles’ drummer), Gina became a fixture on the northern Delaware/Philadelphia/New York club circuit with her previous band, Stygian Veil, which released one acclaimed album, 2001’s Poison Berries. Little Invisibles materialized in 2009, the transition dovetailing perfectly with the striking songstress’s move to more clubby beats and soundtrack-ready melodies. Strong songs are strong songs no matter what the setting, and for live appearances the band can tailor its flexible lineup to fit the given scenario; in configurations ranging from a quartet (keyboards/guitar/bass/drums) to the duo of Gina and Rich (keyboards/drums) or Gina solo, Little Invisibles have been casting their spell on audiences across the East Coast and beyond, entrancing new fans with every performance.
One outspoken fan is Grammy-winning producer Phil Nicolo (Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Sting, James Taylor). “Little Invisibles have a wonderful focus and depth that is rare in modern music,” Nicolo says. “I find Gina’s unique imagery a breath of fresh air.”
“I’m just trying to write songs that are sonically compelling,” says Gina. “Music that gets a physical reaction from people, and, hopefully, resonates with them emotionally, too.”
One listen to Closer shows that her approach is working beautifully. Despite the name, Little Invisibles is an act unlikely to remain small or hidden for long.
