Lacrymosa
Gig Seeker Pro

Lacrymosa

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Band Classical Pop

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"THE WILD HONEY PIE"

To call Caitlin Pasko aka Lacrymosa anything less than a composer would be to misrepresent the music she creates. Despite the relatively short length of her tracks, Pasko is able to produce shifts in tone and movements in composition that most artists today wouldn’t dare attempt. Her simple, haunting vocals, as well as her lyrical depth, compliment this continuous flux, though, and keep the songs grounded to a relatable place.
The power behind Lacrymosa’s work comes as no surprise given her background. A native of Virginia Beach, she began studying classical piano from a very young age. Her complete mastery of the instrument is obvious in each song and the reason behind her distinctive musical voice. In addition to this piano focus, though, are a variety of other background instruments. In particular, Pasko’s use of strings gives her songs a richer and fuller sound, often offering a means of transition and support.
Her recent release, Selah, combines these classical elements with folksy pop and avant-garde vocals. “You Will Find Them” is probably my favorite track off of the album. Focusing mainly on the piano elements of the song, it maintains a bare simplicity without losing any of its strength. Lacrymosa demonstrates her vocal ability particularly well in “Not About Want”, which has her harmonizing particularly well with the music.
To support the song “Simple Questions”, Pasko has also released an incredibly beautiful video. While the song itself is one of the best on the album, the imagery of the video adds texture to its lyrics and meaning. I highly recommend you head to her website to watch the video and buy to her new album. - The Wild Honey Pie


"WEARS THE TROUSERS"

Lacrymosa
‘Sylvia (If It Meant)’
Lacrymosa is the stage name of one Caitlin Pasko, a young New Yorker who creates mysteriously beautiful music led by her stunning gift as a pianist. Comparisons with the likes of go-to keyboard figureheads Tori Amos and Regina Spektor are not completely unfounded, but Pasko very much maintains her own identity and musical prowess throughout her compositions. This free offering, the second single from her debut album Selah, is a whirling and pulsating tune topped with a heavenly vocal radiating with genuine passion. The piano melody effortlessly complements the beautifully dramatic horns (provided by Beirut member Kelly Pratt) and the intense keys of the climax leaves us really rather breathless.

As Pasko explains, the song “is mostly about the delusion of love. Sylvia, the character, represents a version of me that benefits from hindsight. I first introduced her in ‘Se Tu M’ami’ (on the I Was Once (Oh) EP). I asked her to “help me see the other flowers,” as I was stuck on Roses. In ‘Sylvia (If It Meant)’, I am stuck on Buttercups. I like the subject of flowers. In them I find color, texture, shape, beauty, movement, and emotion. I chose the Buttercup in reference to ‘Build Me Up (Buttercup)’ by the Foundations and a tragic Halloween run-in I had with a boy-sized Buttercup I knew many years ago.” - Wears The Trousers


"VILLAGE VOICE"

Shadowy, piano-playing chanteuse Caitlin Pasko is Lacrymosa, a drifty-dreamy fog of theatrical belting, twisted art-folk croon, bold melodies, and spectral tenderness--a haunted house version of uneasy troubadours like Antony, Joanna Newsom, or Bat For Lashes. After spending 18 years living in the same house in Virginia Beach, she made the trip to New York to study recorded music at NYU; her debut album, Selah (our now via The Family Records) doubled as her senior project. The record is 11 breathless, fragile songs where her brassy, reverb-drenched howl crashes like waves against her fluttering, sorrowful piano keys. Single "Sylvia (If I Meant)" matches a jaunty melody and bursting string stabs with vocals that match childlike wonder with adult melancholy. - Village Voice


"SOUND BLAB"

Lacrymosa is the moniker for 20-year old Virginian Caitlin Pasko, a precocious talent who was taught classical piano from a young age. And her strong piano playing ability is certainly what comes to the fore on this her debut album; reminding you of the virtuoso talents of Tori Amos, Kate Bush and Regina Spektor, with her ability to deftly shift moods from grand to playful, frenzied to delicate. A musicality which is showcased in songs such as 'If You Are Looking' with its sudden changes of tempo or 'Good at Heart' with its dramatic chords and staccato rhythms.
She describes her music as "whimsical forest music" and in this aspect she bears a strong resemblance to that other queen of whimsy, Joanna Newsom. Her songs feature "tiny horses", "fields of gold" and "lilies", "buttercups" which can decide whether someone loves you, and "lions" who are "afraid of humans" - you get the picture. This naïve pastoral imagery can sometimes get a bit much, like the musings of a teenager who spends too much time daydreaming, where it is much more potent, poetic and earthy with Newsom.
Her voice too can over-emote at times, sounding a lot like she's half-sighing, half-singing which can get distracting. Given that, it is also often an achingly beautiful voice, her pure far-reaching soprano tones strongly resembling great singers such as Marissa Nadler, Bat for Lashes' Natasha Khan or Hanne Huckkelberg.
The arrangements for the songs sensitively complement this voice and are usually limited to the piano with the occasional addition of a chamber group of strings, wind and percussion. The chamber group (credits unfortunately unavailable at time of publication) in particular lend a wonderfully otherworldly aspect to album highlights such as wistful opener 'Not About Want' and the elegiac 'Simple Questions', and add a richness to the jaunty and charming 'You Put Me There'.
Selah, then, certainly isn't flawless or entirely unique but it does show lots of promise. - Sound Blab


"MP3 HUGGER"

Despite only turning 22 Caitlin Pasko is already onto her second record ‘Selah’ as Lacrymosa. The Brooklyn based singer admits she has been influenced by that other New York chanteuse Regina Spektor yet there is much in Pasko’s gift to eek out a neat corner all for herself. ‘Simple Questions’ from the new album is nigh on perfect, relying on angelic vocals and an arrangement that fills in the soft rounded gaps. There is a climax of sorts that gently but hurriedly dissipates, its end simply ushers a return to the crystal lake of sound. Spellbinding. KD - MP3 Hugger


"MODCLOTH"

If you’re anything like us, your heart skipped a beat once you heard Caitlin Pasko of Lacrymosa‘s airy, lilting voice on our exclusive playlist with Family Records. It was love at first note, and near-idol worship once we found out Pasko just graduated from college! Her album cover was created over the span of her last year at NYU as a graduation project (she got an A), and the 22-year-old chanteuse recently nabbed a residency at The Living Room that starts September 5, the day her album Selah launches. To get your Lacrymosa fix until then, tune into this playlist! - ModCloth


"THE FADER"

New York-based Family Records usually skews far more front-porch folk than this, the label’s most direct foray into pop and the inaugural single in their One Track Mind series. The remix pairs Family’s Lacrymosa, née Caitlin Pasko, an artist more often at home singing alone to her piano (here’s a cupid’s arrow live take on “You Will Find Them”), with RAC producer Andrew Maury, probably best known for his work with Ra Ra Riot. “Good at Heart”‘s classic strings are preserved but the familiar piano’s long gone, replaced by synth bass and a drum machine that, much to Pasko’s credit, sounds tiny stacked next to her voice. With all due respect to Maury, who legitimately turned a song about a commandant at Auschwitz dance-ready, the greatest triumph of the remix is instilling an urge to hear Lacrymosa sing in her natural habitat. - The Fader


"THE DELI MAGAZINE"

Caitlin Pasko just graduated at NYU and plays mellow but somehow eerie orchestral pop under the name Lacrymosa - sounding somewhere between Kate Bush and Joni Mitchel - with a piano. She recorded her debut album "Selah" as her senior project. The first single, entitled "Simple Questions" will be released on September 5th, in occasion of the first date of her September residency at The Living Room. Check out also the live video on her site here. Definitely a new talent to keep an eye on.
- The Deli Magazine


"BUMPERSHINE"

Brooklyn Heights resident and former NYU music student Caitlin Pasko (aka Lacrymosa) just released her debut LP Selah earlier this month on The Family Records. If I had to classify the album I might call it “orchestral pop” or maybe “classical pop”, but indie rock devotees shouldn’t be scared off, it’s an enjoyable record and Caitlin is clearly talented. She’s playing the last night of her 3 week residency at The Living Room tonight (Sep 26) at 9PM. You can view the charming (and really well shot and edited) new video for her song “Simple Questions” above or at iamlacrymosa.com (where you can also stream the whole album). - Bumpershine


"BROOKLYN HEIGHTS BLOG"

Caitlin Pasko, a Brooklyn Heights newbie and BHB reader, also wears the hat of songstress. As Lacrymosa, she’ll perform at The Living Room on September 5, 19, and 26 at 8pm in the first residency of her career.

Caitlin Pasko, a Brooklyn Heights newbie and BHB reader, also wears the hat of songstress. As Lacrymosa, she’ll perform at The Living Room on September 5, 19, and 26 at 8pm in the first residency of her career.

The reason Caitlin, 22, calls herself Lacrymosa is not for a particular love of Mozart (it’s the name of a sequence from his Requiem), but because of a significant memory. “I sang it in tenth grade chorus, and it was sort of like a time when I came out of my shell,” she told me, her voice as adorable as this heartwarming story.

A recent NYU grad by way of Virginia Beach, the real world has been “a lot scarier” than Caitlin expected. But her resume speaks to a certain fearlessness: since her sophomore year of college, she has been performing at New York City venues like The Sidewalk Café, Pianos, and, more recently, the Bowery Ballroom.

Lacrymosa’s sound is soft and airy, but substantial, what Caitlin described as a mix of her two favorite artists Joanna Newsom and Regina Spektor. “I feel like I’m darker than Regina Spektor, but lighter than Joanna Newsom,” she explained. Her first album “I Was Once (Oh)” came out in 2009; her next, “Selah,” will debut on September 5, the date of her first show at The Living Room. Both albums are on the Family Records label.

Like Spektor, Caitlin is a pianist combining classical and pop music. She’s nervous about the residency at The Living Room because the goal is not merely to entertain the audience for one night, but to convince them to return for two successive shows.

“It’s usually just me,” she said of her typical performance setup. “But for the next three shows I’m going to try to have a sitar player, some strings, some drums, and a sax.”

A Brooklyn Heights resident since July, Caitlin loves Bread and Butter on Henry Street, and has taken a quick liking to the neighborhood, both for its beauty and because the people are just so darn friendly.

“When I moved here I told my mom that I’ve moved to the land of the nice people, and she didn’t believe me,” said Caitlin. “And when she came and visited, she was like, ‘You are right!’”

Maybe some of those nice people will make their way to see one (or all) or Lacrymosa’s shows at The Living Room. And buy an album or two. Let’s not change Caitlin’s mind about us. - Brooklyn Heights Blog


"AOL SPINNER"

n Their Words: "'Simple Questions' is a song I wrote about an experience I had dealing and reasoning with someone else's depression, and how helpless it made me feel at times. I have found that when dealing with another person's emotions, you are helpless to change them. The best you can do is to try and understand by being available and by being positive." -- Caitlin Pasko aka Lacrymosa - AOL Spinner


"THE ACE HOTEL NY"

…wherein we resurrect a tag game of bright minds performing in the lobby at Ace Hotel New York during May at our live music residency on Sunday nights, curated by Chris Tucci, who spins B-sides and rarities before and after sets. Lacrymosa is Caitlin Pasko. A native of Virginia who was trained in classical piano from a young age, she’ll use her virtuosic talents this Sunday evening to craft a nimble tempo and mood in earthily poetic songs. Last weekend, North Highlands brought their bright guitars, jangly rhythms and steely and inscrutable dissonance to the mic. Herein, they ask each other a handful of intriguing questions.

Lacrymosa:

Okay first question - I think I remember Mike telling me that Wild One was recorded in a sort of “cabin in the woods.” Where was it, how long were you there, and had you finished writing the songs prior to recording?

North Highlands:

Wild One was recorded in a studio called Carriage House in Stamford, Connecticut. It was sort of a little retreat—it was nestled away in this fancy suburb with a ton of huge homes, and it was literally the Carriage house to another larger house. It was fun though because there are rooms upstairs that the bands can stay in, so we hit Trader Joe’s before coming up and never had to leave the studio. We were there for only 3 or 4 days, and then did a bunch of overdubs and vocals at our producer’s studio in Philadelphia.

Most of the songs were finished, but a few got worked out in the studio (specifically Best Part)…Brenda also did a lot of writing, re-writing, etc. on the way to and from Philadelphia.

Question for you: If you could enlist one musician to play a song with you, one director to score the song for and one actor or actress to be in the film you were scoring, who would they be?

Lacrymosa:

Whoa.

One musician - Ed Droste! I wish I wrote “Foreground.” Also Sean Davenport from Hills Like Elephants because I can’t stop listening to ”Invisible Ink.”

One director - Lars von Trier. Dark, twisted, visually and mentally stunning… Yes please.

One actor - Philip Seymour Hoffman. Because he’s a badass genius.

Okay. 1 - Tell me a good story from the road? 2 - Who would you tour with right now if you could tour with anyone?

North Highlands:

1) Aside from walking through Wendy’s drive-thrus at 4 am, eating at six different Waffle Houses, and one of us getting badly constipated, our tour was your pretty typical beer-crazed, let’s-share-a-bed-at-Days-Inn-and-hopefully-not-get-scabies, fried food extravaganza.

2) If I could tour with anyone it would probably be At The Drive In because I want to see their reunion shows. But that wouldn’t make all that much sense….so I’d probably say Liars or Beach House because I’m psyched for both of their new records. - The Ace Hotel NY


"THE 405"

To say I'm a little bit in love with Caitlin Pasko, aka Lacrymosa, would be an understatement. She recently released a video for her new single 'Simple Questions' and you can watch it below. The single is taken from the album Selah, which you can stream in full at her offical website (link below). - The 405


"Relative Show"

This show will be filed under the letter f for fun. Deleted Scenes a madcap four piece from DC, will be rolling into town to perform their incredible poplicious sound for us. And to welcome their arrival we have assembled an all star cast of locals to sing their songs of warmth and good times. The Beautiful Uncertainty a couple of southern belles and a keyboardist will be telling tales straight from their heart. Lacrymosa, will be driving their dark piano ballads deep into our soul. And The Rooks will be drunk off chocolate milk and playing their charming garage rock banter into our place. This is going to be a great night and will be showcasing some great talent. Don't be a putz and miss it. - Relative Theory Events


"Lacrymosa, Yesper, and Jamesmyth (Show Preview)"

There is no better soundtrack for fine wine, delicious food, and your cherished companion than Lacrymosa. An ex-Hampton Roadsian, she’s relocated to New York City where she opens for acts like The Castanets and Marissa Nadler, but she’s on tour and back in VA for one evening. Add in Yesper and Jamesmyth, and it seems this will be the most shimmering night we’ve had at The Boot in a while. - The Boot


"Share the Experience (Show Preview)"

Tomorrow Night (Wednesday), we have one of those shows happening where in two years we’ll all be standing around amazed that when we landed it it wasn’t that big of a deal. Chris Garneau plays airy nighttime piano songs that catch you breathing slowly and soaking in the beautiful silent Earth, with a falsetto similarly reminiscent to Sufjan Stevens and Elliott Smith. He recently put out a full length of warm and soft-spoken elegance called Music for Tourists on Absolutely Kosher Records (Frog Eyes, The Wrens, Pinback, Xiu Xiu). As billed, locals {}[]{} are opening with their gentle folk a la Great Lake Swimmers. And as a last-minute announcement Lacrymosa’s Caitlin Pasko will be playing her ethereal brand of syncopated piano songs for fans of Marissa Nadler and Regina Spektor. This is a show loaded with talent and people who are doing great things and going great places with their music, so come be apart of exciting things happening in Hampton Roads. Let’s all make this a great night. - Relative Theory


"CASTANETS, LUX PERPETUA, VIRGIN FOREST & LACRYMOSA"

http://www.myspace.com/lacrymosa

Lacrymosa (pet project of piano preternaturalist, Caitlin Pasko) has been getting a lot of attention recently; her lilting impressionistic songcraft will ensure her future repute. These gorgeous vignettes take a more classical stance on the witty pop songs of Regina Spektor, landing closer to the sprawling and delicate wist of Joanna Newsom. Intricate and tender.

- Upcoming (Yahoo)


"Lacrymosa - Wolf Snare"

Lacrymosa consists of one (1) Caitlin Pasko, one of the sweetest singer-songwriters you will find in the Village. While one may be tempted to label her Spektor-esque at first (”Lacrimosa” is the title of a Regina Spektor song, and Caitlin possibly drops a couple other references throughout her music), it would be hasty and unwise to write her off as such- she offers much more than that.

Her songs range from lilting waltzes to schizophrenic bursts of piano pounding, often ending up a satisfyingly chaotic mixture of the two elements. Her voice perfectly complements this musical yin-yang: it reads sometimes sad, sometimes joyous, (these overtones reveal themselves through her cryptically beautiful lyrics) and after a few listens, it seems safe to say that Caitlin has a proficiency in both languages.

One of my favorite songs of Caitlin’s is undoubtedly a track called “Wolf Snare.” Her voice and piano are enhanced with a ghostly reverb, it echoes and bounces around in your head and after a couple piano-key hits, you find yourself seduced and hooked in to the personal yarn that Caitlin’s begun to spin.

An irritating music snob might be tempted to say that she’s like Cat Power but more complicated, Mia Doi Todd but more classical, Regina Spektor but more controlled. But if you hear someone say any of these things, you should push them down and tell them to shut up, because Lacrymosa is just fucking wonderful and you should just listen. - The Hype Machine


Discography

Hyacinth Girl EP - May 2008
I Was Once (Oh) - January 2009
Selah - September 2010
One Track Mind Series - Vol. 1 / Lacrymosa - Good At Heart (RAC Maury Remix) / Digital Download - August 2011

Photos

Bio

Lacrymosa is the solo-moniker of Caitlin Pasko. Hailing from Virginia Beach, VA, Pasko was taught classical piano from a young age, and quickly showed a preternatural genius for the instrument. Her mastery of impressionistic cadences and romantic conveyance of melody gave way, despite her rigorous background, to a songwriting ability beyond the pale of her peers. At twenty-three, she’s channeled the playful character of Regina Spektor and Feist in the creation of a stamp all her own, one steeped in the mystic literacy of Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush, capable of deep deliverance and nurture.