With its second full-length release Apartment Life, Ivy continue to write brash pop music not only focusing on Durand’s errant vocal approach, but complementing it.

The band captures pop music at its core:consistent marriage between rhythm and lyrics, guitar-based arrangements and audibly insatiable vocals.

Ivy wastes no time imploring its pop sound with the R.E.M.-ish guitar plucking of the opening cut The Best Thing. Backed by the fresh rhythm section and searing guitar, Durand applies her own take at lyrical irony (She’s moving fast/She’s a superstar/She’s getting high/She covers up her scars).

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The band’s flare for upbeat pop and sophisticated instrumentation stays afloat with the Material Issue-sounding This Is the Day and the contemporary pop I’ve Got a Feeling.

But the opening guitar riff in You Don’t Know Anything gives Ivy a modern sound all its own. A sound created, ironically, more than 30 years ago with another New York band the Velvet Underground.

Durand and the Velvet’s one-time singer Nico even share a similar, seductive vocal approach.

While the Velvet’s take on song structure differed extensively throughout each album, the members of Ivy concentrate more on blending the different angles of pop.

Though much can be said about the craftsmanship of Ivy’s music, Durand’s sexy and provocative voice could outshine any riff.