VIDEO OF THE DAY: “PURPLE” BY CALIFORNIA WIVES

No, California Wives is not the latest reality show about a group of self-obsessed women living in West Coast luxury and airing all their dirty laundry in public. Instead, California Wives is a Chicago-based quartet that has just released its debut full-length, Art History (September 4, Vagrant), which is currently streaming for free on their website. However, they do have something to say about Valley vanity. “I know your deep past / I watch you walk with the wrong crowd / I watch you fake it to the end / And you’ve been waiting for so long / On the day you wore the dress,” lead vocalist and keyboardist Jayson Kramer sings on “Los Angeles,” continuing, “You wore a flower to impress / A little more, a little less / Socialites now they talk, talk.” Started in 2009 by child classical pianist and former premed student Kramer, California plays smooth-flowing, sweet-sounding indie pop with lilting guitars, layered harmonies, rising synths, and infectious hooks that reveal an ’80s sensibility on such tracks as “Blood Red Youth,” “Purple,” “Tokyo,” and “Marianne.” Kramer, guitarist Graham Masell, bassist Dan Zima, and drummer Joe O’Connor will be celebrating the release of Art History on September 22 in the Grand Ballroom at Webster Hall on a bill with Stars and Diamond Rings.