Castanets

Does the world need any more alt-country singers? Probably not, but Castanet’s Ray Raposa provides a refreshing take on the genre. The idea of a Brooklyn resident writing "gothic”-style country rock is a little bit hard to swallow; one of the crises at the heart of this record, for instance, is a mugging Raposa underwent in front of his Bedstuy apartment. Still, Raposa seems to have lived a fascinating life and with a voice as creepy as his, there aren’t many other options, in terms of style and tone. In the Vines is a good record and, as is often the case with Castanets, a hodgepodge of ideas. Raposa’s songs range from straightforward guitar and vocal tracks to slow, atmospheric pieces with unlikely horn accompaniment. Raposa has a thing for creepy sound effects, which can make disquieting tracks downright terrifying when used in moderation and perfectly good tracks awkward and messy when they are not. His music can suffer from idea overload but when he gets it right, the results are unique and highly intriguing. If you were worried about Bill Callahan getting happy all of a sudden, well, here’s your replacement.