ARRESTING, ENTICING, EPIC, DARK POST-FOLK FROM PICASTRO

Beguiling mistress of an album that will lure you into its deep dark waters

Picastro – LP – You – released by Function Records on 10 February 2014

Picastro’s sixth LP, “You”, begins with some lo-fi folk of deceptive sweetness.  This though is thoroughly disarming, dear listener, as before the end of the first song you will have perceived something menacing and unseen encroaching from the dark undercurrents of this excellent album.  A bead of sweat forms on your brow.  It is when these beguiling tendrils are licking at your legs that Picastro’s “You” really shines as a post-folk opus of rare distinction. There is something of the ‘outsider art’ about Picastro.  They have earned comparisons to Godspeed You! and Dirty Three – and with “You” Picastro are certainly their equals. The unnatural rhythms and song structures on “You” are unforgiving, but enticing and rewarding.  Unheard melodies resolve surprisingly out of nothingness.  Discordant instrumentation, erratic rhythms, vocals and other strange sounds weave together to form beautiful or sometimes troubling images. “Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises / Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not...” Picastro’s You is an uncompromising album which offers something new on every listen.  It is not for the faint of heart, nor for those afraid of the dark. This correspondent worries that they must be terrifying live, but can't wait to find out. Picastro are: Liz Hysen, Nick Storring, and Brandon Valdivia. Guestso n "You" include Alex Lukashevsky, Tony Dekker, Caleb Mulkerin & Colleen Kinsella, and Angela Hysen.
9/10
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