New York-based Ivy drew attention because of the breathy vocals and exotic accent of French-born singer Dominique Durand, even if the music was sculpted by guitarist Andy Chase and drummer Adam Schlesinger (also in Fountains Of Wayne). THe debut single Get Enough (Seed, 1994) and the album Realistic (Seed, 1995) present a style of bittersweet balladry halfway between folk-rock and lounge music, halfway between early Everything But The Girl and the Cardigans. No Guarantee, Point Of View, Beautiful, Shallow are pretty and tuneful, but too superficial to be also emotional.

Apartment Life (Atlantic, 1997) is better produced but equally vain. The Best Thing, I Get The Message, Never Do That Again are impeccable mainly in the way they are meaningless. The single This Is The Day sounds like the Carpenters with horns. Strings adorn Baker and jangling guitars propel I've Got Feeling. The poppy You Don't Know Anything is either their masterpiece or their worst atrocity, depending on taste.

The joke was getting boring on Long Distance (Nettwerk, 2000) and In The Clear (Nettwerk, 2005). Guestroom (Minty Fresh, 2003) is only a collection of covers.

All Hours (Nettwerk, 2011) marked a turn towards electronic dance pop, the thing that was called "synth-pop" in the 1980s.