Cindy is to release a new six song EP called Swan Lake on 4th October via Tough Love. The title isn’t a nod to the folktale or ballet in any real way, but to the fact that it all has ended up in the collective imagination as an object, vaguely recognizable, a little suggestive, and mostly blank. Karina Gill, Cindy’s songwriter, likes to make use of that kind of resonance to connect sound and experience.
The six songs on this EP continue the stripped-down habits of previous Cindy releases, while adding a few departures and left-turns. Cindy likes to work at the essentials and the elements here say exactly what’s needed. In other ways, these songs present a soft filigree that’s unusual for their recordings. Oli Lipton (Now, Violent Change) on guitar and Will Smith (Now) on bass play counterpoint melodies to Gill’s structures. Staizsh Rodrigues (Children Maybe Later, Almond Joy, Peace Frog) sings vocal harmonies that both offset and deepen Gill’s voice and delivery. There are playful drums by Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Sad Eyed Beatniks) and coolly elaborate guitar lines from Stanley Martinez (Famous Mammals, Violent Change, Non Plus Temps).
Gill’s songs strike this balance too: almost nonchalant reporting tied up in unexpected knots. A ride in an elevator connects up with questions about peace and/or the nature of things; the title track wonders about associative thinking and associative feeling; The Bell is an account of one of those times when everything makes sense but you can’t explain it; and there’s the scene of a party viewed with admiration for how friends can love each other. As Gill herself says:
"People have told me that they can’t quite identify my influences. Me neither. The foundational layers of music of the past and my past have been metabolized like breakfast and turned into more me, sorry to say. But I experience the music of people I’m connected with and it impacts me in the moment. There’s the music I’m around – April Magazine, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Violent Change, Katsy Pline, collaborating with Mike on Flowertown – that I can feel a direct line from. Then there’s music that is being made far away but feels close, like Lewsberg, specifically, for this EP. "
Production credits:
"All Weekend" recorded and engineered by Stanley Martinez at OMC, David Glasebrook at The Shed, Oakland and Robby Joseph in San Francisco. Rough mixes by Stanley Martinez and David Glasebrook, final mix by Robby Joseph.
"Party in the Atelier" recorded and engineered by Stanley Martinez at OMC, David Glasebrook at The Shed, Oakland and Robby Joseph in San Francisco. Rough mixes by Stanley Martinez and David Glasebrook, final mix by Robby Joseph.
"The Birds in Birmingham Park" recorded, engineered and mixed by Robby Joseph.
"The Bell" recorded and engineered by Oli Lipton at the Now House and Robby Joseph in San Francisco. Mixed by Oli Lipton and Robby Joseph.
"Swan Lake" recorded by Karina Gill, mixed by Robby Joseph.
"Consolation's Test" recorded and engineered by Oli Lipton at the Now House and Robby Joseph in San Francisco. Mixed by Oli Lipton and Robby Joseph.
All tracks mastered by Mikey Young.
This isn’t a record review. Or maybe it is. But I fell asleep while listening to this album and had a wonderful dream: I was riding my bike through a fictional version of the city where I was born. You know what I mean- familiar, but strangely new? I rode through predawn darkness. The sun began to rise and made the city glow. Two buildings stood out, a liquor store and a pasta factory. I woke up in a happy mood and carried that feeling throughout the day. Joe
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