Brooklyn-based duo Rachael & Vilray have achieved a certain timeless quality with their singular take on traditional pop. There, they have accomplished this since their 2015 formation. Rooted in the language of an earlier age, their songs transcend nostalgia with wit and a flair for the theatrical. On their third album, 2025’s West of Broadway, vocalist Rachael Price (also of Lake Street Dive) and guitarist/singer/songwriter Vilray evolve. Moreover, they shed their music’s previous dreaminess to achieve a refreshing angularity built on left-of-center instrumentation. For example, vibraphone and alto saxophone coast above the moody strains of baritone sax and trombone. Thus, West of Broadway unfolds in a series of sharply drawn vignettes inspired by a recent fascination with classic musicals. Here, they bring their luminous vocals to offbeat tales of love and heartache along city streets.

Furthermore, West of Broadway took shape with renowned musicians like saxophonist Steve Wilson (formerly of Chick Corea’s Origin sextet). Additionally, drummer John Riley (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie). Over the course of ten lush and effervescent tracks, the album delivers standouts like “Love Comes Around”. Here, this joyously romantic piece set the direction for the LP’s West Coast jazz-inspired aesthetic. Also, “My Key to Gramercy Park”, a fantastically salty number narrated by a well-to-do character. They live in lonely suspicion of all those who covet their key to the notoriously exclusive private park. Further, “Off Broadway”, where golden-voiced comedian Stephen Colbert joins in for what the duo dubs an “oddly grumpy anti-Broadway screed”. The album comes to life in the colorful detail and extravagant personality of Rachael & Vilray’s storytelling. West of Broadway ultimately immerses the audience in an exquisitely out-of-time vision of their beloved New York City.

Recommended for fans of Madeleine Peyroux, Stella Cole, Cyrille Aimée and Lake Street Dive.