Comming
Soon A quick glance at the ghostly intertwined kissing faces on
the cover art hints that this is not going to be a straight edged
conventional indie-pop release, and those who would judge this
release by its cover would be refreshingly correct. Picastro is
a band who utilise a host of instruments (violin, pump organ,
ukulele, slide whistle) to carve floating, glimmering soundscapes
which are steeped in melancholy. ‘Whore Luck’ sees
Picastro focusing their sound and moving towards a more melodically
direct and texturally diverse listening experience which conjures
up images of a hostile Old Wild West where a storm (or maybe a
battle?) is brewing.
‘Whore Luck’ is the third release from Canada’s
‘Picastro’ whom enlist the help of a number of guests
including Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and Final Fantasy’s
Owen Pallett on this 10 track, 36 minute outing. Picastro are
from the epicentre of post-rock and it is obvious that this style
of music has influenced them. Refreshingly, Picastro don’t
succumb to the school-boy pretender school of sloppy post-rock
and demonstrate a delicate restrain when handling the fragile
dynamics of such a genre. The result is mournful strings and reverb
drenched guitar melodies complete with clustered percussion and
shimmering effects which recall a host of luminaries such as Mogwai,
Espers, Dirty Three, Aereogramme, Esmerine and Grails. On top
of these emotive and dark torch-melodies, singer Liz Hysen lays
emotionally drained, almost atonal vocals which, instead of sounding
aloof, sound like an additional instrumental layer, and as such,
really carry the track. Vocals will draw inevitable comparisons
to Chan Marshall, however there is an ever so slight hint of Islaja
or Christina Carter (although the vocals of these two songstresses
are in a class of their own).
The label describe ‘Whore Luck’ as an album of “sombre
reflection and uneasy resolve” which perfectly sums up Picastro’s
sound. The tracks range from the childlike vintage ballad of ‘Friend
of Mine’ to the shifty, dead-of-night desert glaze of ‘All
Erase’ which recalls the emotional rebel cowboy majesty
of ‘Sixteen Horsepower’. ‘If you have Ghosts’
is a cover of Roky Erickson and rides on the same solemn current
which inspired Malcolm Middleton’s solo works, with Hysen’s
vocals bearing an odd resemblance to Middleton’s. Elsewhere,
‘Albanis’ showcases a highly charged yet hazy glow
of foreboding percussion, screeching violins and dispassionate
vocals which all exist within the realm of a potentially explosive
landscape of classic Americana.
The fact that 6 guest performers appear at various stages through-out
the album gives the release a sense of depth and grandeur as their
performances contribute to a multi-layered and sonically diverse
soundscape. On the downside, Picastro don’t always fully
explore the themes which they so readily create. This is due to
the restrictive length of the tracks which last 3 to 5 minutes
but what is quite unique about Picastro is that, despite the restrictive
length of their tracks, they manage to cram delicately crafted
post-rock dynamics without making it sound forced or hurried.
‘Whore Luck’ definitely isn’t an album to life
your spirits or ignite a party. Instead it is a highly intimate
piece of music which provides a score to your (solemn) reflections
and will set off a number of deep rooted emotions in the process.
For fans of: Sixteen Horsepower, Grails, Aereogramme,
Dirty Three, Espers
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