CFCF
'Exercises' (album stream)
By Alex HudsonFollowing a stellar string of recent mini-releases, CFCF is back with Paper Bag Records for Exercises. The record doesn't drop until April 24, but you can now stream the eight-track collection at Exclaim.ca.
These solemn piano- and synth-based pieces are deeply nostalgic but don't succumb to the hazy production values and retro-pop leanings of many of CFCF mastermind Michael Silver's electronic-minded peers. As a press release rightly notes, Exercises "is all snowy walkways and long corridors, endless escalators ascending to desolate concrete plateaus." That seems like a fitting a description for these low-key tracks.
Each of the songs is named "Exercise" (followed by a parenthetical subtitle), and all but one is an instrumental. Only the David Sylvian cover "Exercise #5 (September)," which reworks the classic opener from 1987's Secrets of the Beehive, contains vocals.
A press release notes that influences for this collection include Philip Glass, Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Borden, plus "institutional architecture and '70s Canadiana." Soak it all in below.
UPDATE: This stream was available for one week only and is no longer available.Be the first to comment
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