Cuchillo
It’s a dark romance that Cuchillo plies with Israel Marco’s supple guitar swooning and delicate fills. And it’s as alluring as parts unknown. Mystical seascapes give way to desert drones; a lolling drum tattoo may yield to the snaps of maracas. The Barcelona duo refers to their music as “psychedelic folk rock experimental,” but that’s likely only because adding “harmony pop electronic” would make the description too long. With ingenuity, intimacy, and subtle applications of found sounds, they spread a pintxos buffet for listeners inclined to grasp for referents. Sparklehorse? Nick Drake? Love? Simon & Garfunkel?
An adapted flamenco riff skitters over the drone that opens “Come With Me”. The song is both an invitation and a warning. What follows are the sublime, bouncy pop of “Summertime In Sweden”, with its hints of seagulls calling across gentle waves breaking on the shore, and the almost reassuring, slowcore lullaby “It Will Be Okay”. On “The House”, Marco’s vocals are suppressed under a disturbing drum pattern, and even further back are a seemingly random collection of the sounds of urban life. Cuando Te Canto (“When I sing to you”), the only track sun in Spanish, is unrelentingly charming in a drowsy tempo. The closer, “Black & White Numbers”, is a happy stoner and the hit of Cuchillo’s live show. Cuchillo is is Spanish for knife; this one spreads spiced butter.