Bianca
Casady & The C.i.A. – Oscar Hocks (FANTASYmusic)
LP
/ CD / DL
Out
Now
9
/ 10
Musical performance artist release her debut
solo album.
Hot on the heels of last year’s fascinating
Heartache City album with Sister Sierra as part of the CocoRosie duo, Bianca
Casady releases her debut solo album with The C.i.A. If you like strange and unpredictable then
this is the album for you. If you like
your pianos untunable and your violin to sound like it’s being tortured, if you
want to hear a metal spoons and a teen-like shaky voice then look no further.
On first listening Oscar Hocks is downright
weird. Period. The surreal-pop of CocoRosie is taken one
step further and completely abused described as ‘too dark’ and ‘too scary’ for
the duo. The live shows which currently
accompany Bianca, are said to contain images and sounds unfit for persons under
the age of 13 for her shows at the Southbank Centre of which David Byrne was an
admirer.
Her poems, translated to songs via decrepit
typewriters were recorded and mixed in Argentina away from her Paris home and
can only be described as ‘original’. The
depth and passion beneath the surface of each song is peeled away and reveals a
world of haunting and horror and sounds like the wildest improvisational piece.
Twelve tracks of anarchic anti-pop provide one
of the most compelling listenings for many a year and stitched together with a
talent that is completely incomparable.
Dead Season unwinds slowly and almost painfully. It’s a voice and a piano and little else, but
it’s rich with involvement and intrigue.
Poor Deal to is evocative and disturbing with
tales of being chased by the Devil himself.
A slow, rustling drum and cymbal swish in the background adding more captivation
to an already gripping piece.
Album closer, The Empty Room is lucid and
distressing at the same time and is somehow heart-breaking at the same time
continuing the trip that becomes an adventure along the way.
Oscar Hocks is possibly the work of genius, the
like of which is rarely heard.
Links
Fantasy Music
Bianca Casady on Soundcloud
Bianca Casady on Twitter
Bianca Casady on Facebook
CocoRosie album review
Published on Louder Than War 09/02/16 - here
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