 
Indie band Ida has a way of getting under one’s skin with its slow, mellow music. The soft, hypnotic quality that weaves through “Heart Like a River,” the group’s first CD in nearly four years, doesn’t so much whack listeners on the head to make them pay attention as it gently beckons them in and then wraps them in a blanket of sad songs. The New York City band features singer-songwriters Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Littleton and Karla Schickele Together, they deliver beautiful, intricate harmonies that serve as the band’s hallmark. One of the standouts on “Heart Like a River” is the haunting “What Can I Do,” which has a little bit of an Aimee Mann vibe to it. The other 10 songs are also reliably pretty and equally melancholy. For some people, it may take more than one or two spins of the disc to fall under Ida’s spell. Patient listeners, however, will be justly rewarded. This is a case, where heartbreak feels good. -- D. Kimura
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Ida