My Unborn Children is playing at the 40 Watt Club on Thursday, Feb. 28, and at the Flicker Theatre & Bar on Wednesday, Mar. 21.

Ice Cream Socialists broke onto the local scene in late 2005, creating a flurry of ecstatic, nervy pop that was unafraid to quote Andrew Lloyd Weber alongside Genesis. That sounds like a rough fit, but the band’s enthusiasm and deft touch allowed disparate elements to combine into a thoroughly invigorating sound.

A standout feature of the group's sound is its emphasis on the accordion, and Talia Bromstad’s responsible for that instrument as well as backing vocals in the group. Last year, she took tentative steps into the solo realm, releasing the album Foolish under the moniker My Unborn Children.

“I kind of conceived the whole idea in November after -this is going to be really clichéd - after I’d had this breakup,” says Bromstad, “and I was funneling all my energy into school to distract myself, and then I ran out of schoolwork, so I thought, ‘What do I do now?!’ So I thought I’d make a record."

My Unborn Children’s songs aren’t as poppy as Bromstad’s other band’s; they veer more towards the confessional with a sense of an exposed diary bubbling up. They’re simple, they’re straightforward, and they’re sweet.

Flagpole

So you’re in school right now?

Talia Bromstad

Yes. My plan right now is to graduate next May and then move to Nashville and get really awesome at the pedal steel guitar. I want to find a mentor of some sort.

Flagpole

Why?

Talia Bromstad

I love the pedal steel! I dabble on it right now, and get some cool noises out of it, but by no means know how to actually play it. That’s a far-fetched goal, but I think that’s what I’m going to do… My secret dream is to play on an Emmylou Harris record. That’s what I’m shooting for now. [Laughs]

Flagpole

So you taught yourself to play accordion?

Talia Bromstad

Well, that was actually pretty easy, because I had been taking piano lessons for a while. I’ve been playing music since I was nine, so I can read music and understand music theory, and that’s all you need to know - music theory and keyboard, because the right hand’s all keyboard and the left hand is all this theory called the circle of fifths. So, it’s all memorizing that and knowing the pattern, and then getting down the technical bit.

Flagpole

ou recorded all of Foolish by yourself.

Talia Bromstad

It’s all songs I’ve been recording for the past two years on my laptop. With two notable exceptions, it’s all me, stuff that I’ve played or sang or looped. That was just the easiest thing for me to do because I never thought it was going to be something serious. It was just something that I did on my own when I wasn’t playing with the Ice Cream Socialists.

Flagpole

Did you ever consider bringing your songs to the other band you play in?

Talia Bromstad

There’s always this dialog with the band where people say, 'Hey, if you want to bring your songs to the band, we’ll learn it," but I actually have this big phobia about teaching people my music, which is kind of why I never started a band... I’m also not really sure if those songs would fit the Ice Cream Socialists' aesthetic.

Chris Hassiotis

Spotlight is a regular feature looking at newer or emerging local acts.