Caught in the Carousel

Quitzow

Art College
Young Love

There's an old story about a boy who asks a guy juggling six chainsaws how he manages to not get cut by the blades. "You just throw them up there and see what happens," the juggler responds. On her new album Art College, singer Erica Quitzow offers similar advice on songwriting:

"Hit a C-Note
Hit a G-note
Come on
It's easy
My little peanut
Don't be afraid of
It's what you're made of
See, we just made
A melody"

Although Quitzow makes it sound easy, her quixotic blend of classical synth pop and electro indie rock aren't constructed as readily as her above recipe suggests. In fact, to duplicate what she does would be about as easy as juggling chainsaws. An artist radiating intelligence and musical innovation, Quitzow is a rare and singular talent and her debut is an assured and idiosyncratic offering. The breathless "Sponsor (It Didn't Mean A Thing)" is propelled by a leaping moog fill and an ironic cello line; the mocking beat of "On TV!" is set to wildly associative lyrics ("Bubblegum/Big guns/Fast cars…") and the heaving "Stay Away From John" is downright creepy. A member of The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra, Quitzow is as comfortable playing Tchaikovsky as she is embarking on synth-based excursions that challenge the pop idiom in the same way Bjork or Rasputina have done before her. Elsewhere, "Love" is a cello-based meditation; "Cats R People 2" may be the best song about felines since The Cure's "Love Cats," and the album closer "Jackpot" is a funky little blast of libidinous rhythm and groove. Art College may be a peculiar record, but Quitzow is so deeply talented and loaded with such personality and originality, she makes the normal stuff sound stupid.

—Alex Green