speed of dark

Ryan Barrett holding the cat;
and from left Colin English, Garret Kelly, and Adam McCollom
Somehow I am always attracted to things that are quirky, strange, or a bit off the regular...which brought me right to The Pica Beats' debut CD, Beating Back the Claws of the Cold. It's kind of indie-folk with its tongue in its cheek or "speaking out of the side of your mouth," from the lyrics of the third track "Summer Cutting Kale."

By the way, accordion is no longer the weird rock instrument in vogue. With this record, the official "in" weird instrument is now the sitar, sounding a lot different here than when you heard George Harrison use it so long ago, but somehow oddly perfect, twanging along over the shuffling rhythms of the instrumental "Martine, as Heavy Lifter," boldly placed as the second track, and "Hikikomori and the Rental Sisters."

A lot of good synthesizer and harmonium appear as well. Ryan Barrett plays all of these on the record, with help from a few friends, although for live shows he now has a band that includes Colin English on drums, Garrett Kelly on bass, Adam McCollom on keys, and Alice Sandahl providing backing Vocals, percussion and more. On the record, Joseph Sheedy provided saxophone on "Hope Was Not a Smith Family Tradition" and two others.

Barrett's voice is similar to Ray Davies or maybe Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian without the Scottish burr. Barrett's long, fluid lyric lines are less like Davies' quick photo-images and more like Belle and Sebastian's rambling observations. "Poor old Ra, you were much better off as a sun-god, weren't you?" taunts Barrett in the first track, "No one gives a shit about your falcon head anymore."

On "Shallow Dive": "Hey, cat with the nervous eyes, maybe you can't decide how to lose your eighth and last. Born in different gears, with symbiotic tears maybe that's the kind you chose."

And on "Shrinking Violets," a KEXP Song of the Day where I first came across this band: "So you got the courage now to write a love song without one metaphor? It's a power drill; it's a carbide cone with a sharpened edge and an electrical cord. See it reaching..." I love that contradiction.

Frankly, there is so much on this CD that pleases me, from the unusual instruments to the superabundant lyrics. I recommend you buy the physical CD from Hardly Art because it has all the lyrics; you're going to want them.

The Pica Beats: Shrinking Violets from Beating Back the Claws of the Cold
Stream the entire album HERE

Used with permission from Ryan Barrett.
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