Picastro

Citing Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic tome, The Road, as inspiration, Picastro conjure an appropriately haunting audio landscape with Become Secret. An oppressive atmosphere manifests itself through gaunt arrangements of cello, piano, guitar and Liz Hysen's lonely voice. Tension rises and ebbs, with the occasional murmur of electronics or briefly squalling stab of electric guitar. Drenching the whole production in natural room reverb enhances the record's ghostly, barren auditorium vibe of a rag-tag band playing one final cabaret for the wind as humanity breathes its last sigh. This sad music lamenting a damaged world is hypnotic, beautiful and heartbreaking. An almost complete lack of percussion implicates a weakened heartbeat, the pulse kept alive by the insistent rhythm of a guitar picking through chord sequences. A strongly emotional record, Become Secret would make a fitting soundtrack to the daunting struggles of life in the face of irrepressible decay.