Cutleri

mit heidi harris hatten wir uns bereits einvernehmlich beschäftigt und dabei nicht unerwähnt gelassen, dass sie fester bestandteil von cutleri ist, einem trio, das ergänzung findet in jessie shaffer und christen napier. gemeinsam mit mike milazzo und matt boyle haben die drei nun ihr debutalbum "we sink ships" eingespielt. dem ersten offiziellen werk ging übrigens eine songsammlung namens "let me show you my sweater" voraus, auf der die drei mädels livedarbietungen und frühe aufnahmen vereint wissen wollten.
über akustischer grundlage fegt ein weicher, warmer soundwind wie vor einem frischen sommerguss. die vokalen einsätze sind breit gefächert und meist von mehreren damen befeuert. ein einklang, ein bild wie aus einer laune, einer träumerei, da man sich in muße gehen lässt. die gestrichene saite einer violine verstärkt den romantischen charakter. manchmal gehts auch profaner und ein paar gestolperte perkussive elemente führen in eine angeblueste atmosphäre, aus der sich der singsang, die glöckchen und eine wackelige fidel schälen. mundharmonika und banjo formvollenden. wer sich bis dahin etwas experimentellere töne erhofft hat, geht dennoch nicht leer aus. denn die drei damen tragen durchaus den vorwurf weird nach, dumpf mäandernde holzbläser, windschiefe rasseln, eine driftende geige und stimmen, die sich mit diesem rauschen verheiraten. doch ordnungen finden sich wieder, die eine folksprache sprechen, die der amerikanischen tradition frönt. schlingernd findet eine nummer wie "we shouldn't talk about it" ausgang in einer wilden klarinettenhatz. am schönsten ist es , wenn sich die so unterschiedlichen stimmen treffen, um zu harmonisieren, sich aufeinander einzustellen.
"we sink ships" ist eine wundertüte voller vortrefflicher songs, die für sich stehen können und am bande gereiht eine schmuck anzuschauende kette bilden.

Translation:

New Sounds (1152): Cutleri

Heidi Harris, who we've already reviewed, is an integral component of Cutleri, a trio that includes Jessie Shaffer and Christen Napier. Together with Mike Millazzo and Matt Boyle, the three have now recorded their debut album. Their first official release was a collection of songs by the name of "Let Me Show You My Sweater", which combined live performances and early recordings. With a sweeping acoustic foundation that sounds like a soft warm summer wind before it blows, the vocals are diverse and mostly composed of several female voices in harmony, like a moody picture that you can take in at your leisure with the painted strings of the violin enhancing its romantic character. The singing is also gritty at times and driven by a few percussive elements that create a bluesy atmosphere with licks of merrily shaken bells. Harmonica and banjo complete the musical form. If you are hoping for more experimental sounds, you won’t be disappointed, because the three women veer off in weird directions after the initial impression, with hollow meandering woodwinds, warped rattles, and drifting violins making for an agreeable marriage. These experimentations are tempered and speak a language of folk that indulges in the American tradition, but then unexpectedly lurch into a song like “Probably, but We Shouldn’t Talk About It” with its wild clarinet licks. The music is at its most beautiful when the diverse vocals meet in harmony, adjusting themselves to one another. “We Sink Ships” is a wondrous collection of excellent songs that can stand alone or form the links to a very decorative chain. - das klienicum

Production standards for self released music have become so generically polished and exact, that it has almost ceased to be meaningful or valuable to release a well recorded album. I’m being facetious, obviously, and of course I like to hear music I like sounding good, but sometimes the slickness of everything becomes incredibly desolate; some noise, some artifacts, and the boxy sound of cheaper equipment can serve as a welcome reminder that a recording embodies something real. Recordings are artistic constructions, and it’s a fallacy to think they represent an impression of something else, but sometimes their impact rests on the sensation that they do.
I’m not accusing Cutleri of recording badly, deliberately or otherwise, and nor am I suggesting they’ve taken a self-consciously constructivist approach to making this album. It’s very simply a collection of demos and live recordings, assembled with minimal (if any) mastering and made available for free in advance of their forthcoming debut. But the fact that it is full of noises off, hisses and crackles, uncontrollable giggling and general tomfoolery paints a far more detailed and revealing portrait of the band than a glossy studio recording might; it may not be an accurate portrait, and it may indeed be a contrived one, but it gives the listener the impression they are genuinely getting to know the band, and they’ll want to believe it, because the impression it gives is so damn’ charming!

The ingredients here (as far as I can make out) are banjo, ukulele, harmonica, three female voices in harmony, and a variety of percussion and wind instruments. The material ranges from the traditional to the bizarre, by way of Broadway: there’s a Brian Jonestown Massacre cover, the eighteenth century song ‘Shady Grove’, ‘Moon River’, a sparse improvisation populated with vocal saxophone impressions (‘Let Me Show You My Sweater’), a song one of the members wrote to sing to her cat (‘Weasel Goose’) and… well, you get the idea.

I expect their upcoming studio release will be more polished and finished: Cutleri are not about to upturn any applecarts with their technical skills, but they are able players with a good command of their instruments’ and voices’ dramatic and expressive potential. They perform their songs with such humour and casual diffidence that it’s obvious a technically polished performance is not their central aim, and nor is entertainment, though they are certainly entertaining. This is music performed for the performers’ pleasure: not in an exclusive way, but with an invitation to the listener to join the party, and you can hear these three women are having so much fun that it’s a party you want to join. - Oliver Arditi, Live Unsigned & Oliver Arditi blog

Production standards for self released music have become so generically polished and exact, that it has almost ceased to be meaningful or valuable to release a well recorded album. I’m being facetious, obviously, and of course I like to hear music I like sounding good, but sometimes the slickness of everything becomes incredibly desolate; some noise, some artifacts, and the boxy sound of cheaper equipment can serve as a welcome reminder that a recording embodies something real. Recordings are artistic constructions, and it’s a fallacy to think they represent an impression of something else, but sometimes their impact rests on the sensation that they do.
I’m not accusing Cutleri of recording badly, deliberately or otherwise, and nor am I suggesting they’ve taken a self-consciously constructivist approach to making this album. It’s very simply a collection of demos and live recordings, assembled with minimal (if any) mastering and made available for free in advance of their forthcoming debut. But the fact that it is full of noises off, hisses and crackles, uncontrollable giggling and general tomfoolery paints a far more detailed and revealing portrait of the band than a glossy studio recording might; it may not be an accurate portrait, and it may indeed be a contrived one, but it gives the listener the impression they are genuinely getting to know the band, and they’ll want to believe it, because the impression it gives is so damn’ charming!
The ingredients here (as far as I can make out) are banjo, ukulele, harmonica, three female voices in harmony, and a variety of percussion and wind instruments. The material ranges from the traditional to the bizarre, by way of Broadway: there’s a Brian Jonestown Massacre cover, the eighteenth century song ‘Shady Grove’, ‘Moon River’, a sparse improvisation populated with vocal saxophone impressions (‘Let Me Show You My Sweater’), a song one of the members wrote to sing to her cat (‘Weasel Goose’) and… well, you get the idea.
I expect their upcoming studio release will be more polished and finished: Cutleri are not about to upturn any applecarts with their technical skills, but they are able players with a good command of their instruments’ and voices’ dramatic and expressive potential. They perform their songs with such humour and casual diffidence that it’s obvious a technically polished performance is not their central aim, and nor is entertainment, though they are certainly entertaining. This is music performed for the performers’ pleasure: not in an exclusive way, but with an invitation to the listener to join the party, and you can hear these three women are having so much fun that it’s a party you want to join. - Oliver Arditi, Live Unsigned & Oliver Arditi blog