Texas Rose Thaw & the Beasts

Castanets | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 22, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asthmatic Kitty
• ASIN: B002JODUH0
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,640 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Castanets are not afraid, June 13, 2010

By 

Phil Deez (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Texas Rose, The Thaw and The Beasts (MP3 Download)

Castanets, aka Ray Rapoza and company prove once again that they are not afraid to take musical risks. The fifth release from this San Diego/ New York/ the entire world/ band is as sonically progressive as First Light's Freeze and maintains the guttural urgency of Cathedral. Ray again shows no fear in using multiple instrument tracks including 80's keyboards to compliment his dry eerie vocals, reminiscent of Willie Nelson, especially The Red headed Stranger. The lyrics have been deepened by Rapoza's adventures on the road, constantly touring for well over 6 years. The lyrics are paradoxical, suggesting a neither optimistic of pessimistic worldview, but one based in authenticity and real life experiences. The instrumentation is considered, deeply focused, but overly not elaborate. The total mood created is unique and deserves to be heard in low light. This is a more mature effort than City of Refuge and is completely worth picking up, preferably on vinyl.