Carla Bozulich's outings with the Geraldine Fibbers and, more recently, her interpretation
of Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger might have located her
somewhere on alt.country's outer fringes. But here she's departed radically
from any conventional roadmap and immersed herself in a storm of acoustic
drone and noise.
Evangelista was recorded in Montreal's Hotel2Tango by Godspeed and A Silver
Mt. Zion mainstay Efrim, and includes a range of musicians on the Constellation
roster alongside multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily. This geographical shift
(reciprocated
by Bozulich becoming Constellation's first non-Canadian signing) is reflected
in the music's radical move away from skewed Americana towards a potent strain
of avant rock. The one constant is Bozulich's extraordinary voice, versatile
in its ability to be both strident and vulnerable, rawly emotional and quiveringly
tender. And the vivid contrasts offered up by this jolting and economical musical
accompaniment show her vocals in sharp relief, as she shifts between abstract
impenetrability and dramatic exhortation.
On "Evangelista I" Bozulich's vocals rise to impassioned screams from a swooping,
soaring and hectoring series of volleys, while the music drones and scrapes eerily
away. Next up is "Steal Away," marking a step back from the brink, with its lapping
guitar and deep, moaning vocals. "How to Survive Being Hit by Lightning" ratchets
up the noise and static fuzz, while Bozulich's voice sounds smaller, even contemplative,
the vocal lead shadowed by an unsettling whispering echo. Some beautifully poised
but ragged-sounding guitar lends the piece just enough structure to propel it
forward. "Inside Sleeps" is an impressionistic murmur of tinkling pianos and
found sounds before "Baby That's the Creeps" marks another shift back into darker
territory, its muttered croons rising to tortured cries left brutally exposed
by a sparse backing. It's a kind of bare-wire torch song confessional. "Pissing" is
a cover of a Low song (off last year's The Great Destroyer album), and
while it's recognizably Low in structure and pacing, Bozulich makes it her own,
as it gradually surges forward into blistering acoustic noise anchored by a measured
pulse. "Prince of the World" features the brittle echo of mandolin and acoustic
guitar, while voices interweave in ghostly echo-chamber harmonies. On "Nels'
Box," Bozulich's processed moans and distorted voice melt into the abstract drone
of the backing, a combination of pulsating electronica and harshly scraped viola. "Evangelista
II" closes the album's song-cycle with simmering vocals backed by looped sounds
and tremolo guitar.
|
