CD: UNSOUND04
RELEASED: 2003
LABEL: Unsound

01. Shanty
02. Last Side Show
03. Burnt Out Moon
04. Wintertown
05. Harbourtown
06. Marry Me
07. You're Even Better
08. Brief Episode (Aria)
09. Bad Guy
10. No Memory

There are numerous reasons why Raskolnikov stand out from the crowd. They use a double bass, not an electric one; the drums are reserved and often brushed; the semi-acoustic guitar ornaments the rhythm patterns of the piano, rather than vice versa. On their new album Raskolnikov aims for sophisticated songcraft and introspective mood. Drums are played softly, ivories tinkle with upper-crust reserve, strings and guitars swirl in a languid mist. It's essentially jazzy but threaded with pretty much anything else that'll fit. Tracks worth a mention include "Burnt Out Moon", a brooding inner city nightscape concrete underpasses, dank doorways and overturned dustbins partially obscured by sodium shadows, and "Wintertown", which just makes you want to lie back in a dark-secluded spot in a bar, smoke a cigarette and reminisce over lost loves. It seriously is that sort of album; pondering, thought provoking, dream awakening, breathtaking.

Influences / Similar Artists:
Spasmodique, Tom Waits, Nick Cave