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 Caught in the Carousel - "There will be music despite everything"
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Guitaro
JJ's Crystal Palace
Independent
There is an album for every mood; some make you ecstatically happy, others make you want to cry. Vancouver-based Guitaro’s sophomore release JJ’s Crystal Palace has an intensity that draws you in, but is almost frightening at the same time. The whisper-like vocals of Mark Wiebe and Heather Warkentin contribute to the overall dark mood of the album and are part of what make it so intriguing. This is nowhere more apparent than on tracks such as “Toothpaste” and “Plastic Bags.” The use of a keyboard on “2085” contributes to the ominous feel of the song and complements the vocals. In “Chateau 100,” the electronic elements contrast brilliantly with the soaring vocals. Songs like “Blastok” and the badly-titled “Title Hertz” are more straightforward shoegaze with the droning guitars masking their soft vocals. They go for more of a dance, synth-heavy sound on tracks like the catchy “Come Get Sums” and the driving “Modulo.” Overall, Guitaro’s combination of unsettlingly quiet vocals with the heaviness of their sound make this album hard to resist.
—Jessica Simons
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