Gambler's Daughter - Serotinous Skin (self-released)
Sometimes an album isn't really an album, it's a forest. That's the case with Serotinous Skin, the debut full-length from Gambler's Daughter. Jessa Roquet is the heart of the project, its vibrant songwriter and vocalist; she is surrounded by a quintet of talented multi-instrumentalists. While the album's sound overall will clearly reassure listeners that it is rooted in folk music, Roquet and company view the genre barrier as something to bend if not outright shatter.
Songs like "13 Feet Tall" and the title track, among others, are the acoustic anchors within the veil. Despite straightforward grooves, they lope with strange burdens, carried for many miles along the dirt path. Other songs, like opener "Red Flag," "Tightrope in the Dark," and the incredible "Lying Sweetly" are encrusted with a bit of bluesy filth. The grit covers the fierce guitar lines and shivering electronics, but never make it into Roquet's voice. She hovers above the ground, serenading any passerby battling through the brush and soil.
In a clearing at the center of the woods is the centerpiece, "Calamity." It sounds nothing like the rest of Serotinous Skin and is all the better for it. That's obviously not a knock against the other nine songs — it is merely a testament to its strength. Instead of anything resembling folk, Roquet matches her soaring voice with a glitchy, electronic soundscape. The tempo never rises above a gentle throb, an ache to be the waves, crashing against the shore, or to be the trees, sentinels unbothered by the relentless gusts of wind. Roquet is the master of it all. Nothing ever escapes her control. Like an arboreal mage, she summons and banishes surges of keys and plucked strings on a whim.
Serotinous Skin rises above on the simultaneous strength of its variety and depth of its exploration. Roquet carves her own trail with each verdant song.
(Photo by Aiden James)
Floodwater Angel - Live Cats (self-released)
Let's hear it for whoever recorded this!
Usually live albums are a novelty to anyone other than super fans (unless you're the Grateful Dead or a prog band or something). Usually live albums don't sound great. However, the rough-and-tumble lo-fi nature works perfectly for Floodwater Angel.
Taken from their February 10th show at the Kitty Cat Klub and released just before going on to play at Rowhouse, Live Cats presents the band in their jammiest context. In other words, their live context. Song lengths double (I'm looking at you "Xoxo GG"). Banter is included. None of the edges are smoothed over. Obviously, the level of intensity isn't the same as actually seeing a show. But it presents quite the case to go do so.
The appeal of Live Cats lies mostly in the unreleased/unrecorded songs. "Figure It Out" and the anti-capitalist volcano of "Jeffrey Epstein Didn't Kill Himself" are presented as closely to how you'd hear them live as possible. Listening to these renditions is like looking at a Polaroid — it's grainy, but still accurately representative and evocative.
There's also a new one: the Twin Peaks-themed instrumental meltdown "Diane, It's 11:56 PM." Nice!
RIP "Asparagus" and "Queerfish." If you're ever sad over your inability to ~get to the gig~ you can just listen to Live Cats and pretend like you're there. In the meantime, buy Playboy.
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