You can’t mistake a B-52s song for anything else. The retro guitar lines, the boppy rhythms, Fred Schneider’s flamboyantly barked vocals, and harmonies sung by two women with bouffant hairdos: Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson.

Pierson — the redhead — has been with the B-52s since they formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. Over the years she’s sung with big-name artists like Iggy Pop and REM. Only now, forty years into her music career, has Pierson made her first solo record, Guitars and Microphones.

Why now? “I just want to work more,” Pierson jokes — in addition to her musical career, she runs two boutique bed and breakfasts. “It’s also been something I’ve wanted to do all my life.” Although she worked on solo material in the past, Pierson never finished a record until her friend Sia got the ball rolling. The Australian pop star and producer (who’s also worked with Beyoncé and Rihanna) collaborated with Pierson and wrote a number of songs on the record.

Guitars and Microphones doesn’t sound like Sia’s slick pop, though. Its playful, retro-rock sensibility echoes the B-52s, whose aesthetic, Pierson says, came from an eclectic grab-bag of influences: Vogue magazine from the 60s, the films of Federico Fellini, African music, surf music, and Yoko Ono.

“We [each] brought our own kind of craziness to it,” Pierson says about the original members of the B-52s. “There’s something about all of us coming together that created this genie-in-a-bottle blend.” While other arty bands like Talking Heads, Devo, and Blondie also brought a sense of humor to the early punk/New Wave scene, the B-52s seem to be singular in their constant sense of fun. (On Twitter she calls them “The World’s Most Famous Party Band.”) “We said as long as this is fun we’ll still do it, and we’re still doing it.”

In advance of her tour for the new album, Pierson performed live in our studio with her new band – Connor Kennedy (guitar), Brandon Morrison (bass), Will Bryant (keys), and Lee Falco (drums).

Video: "Guitars and Microphones"

Video: "Bring Your Arms"