Castanets:In the Vines

By: Josh Potter

While some have called the sound “Gothic Americana,” Castanets reek of the baroque. The cast of supporting musicians in main man Raymond Raposa‘s outfit are as varied and wayward as high plains drifters, and certainly as dark. But that’s only one half of Castanets’ chiaroscuro. A jangly, lo-fi songsmith, Raposa’s compositions are raw like an open wound – that is to say, a bit tender and begging for the listener’s mercy. The thing is, he needs as much compassion as we can afford. The way the one-man-band routine is ravaged by noise and electronic bedlam, Castanets can be as cruel and beautiful as Caravaggio. Think Sufjan Stevens (Raposa’s Asthmatic Kitty label mate) getting his ass beat by Waylon Jennings in an anti-gravity chamber.

JamBase | Brooklyn
Go See Live Music!