Castanets – “Tell Them Memphis” Video (Stereogum Premiere)
“Out For The West,” the first song we heard from Castanets’ Decimation Blues, established that Raymond Raposa had developed a distinctly haunting take on sparse, somber folk music with a digital fringe. “Tell Them Memphis” — which could pass for the Flaming Lips covering something from 808s And Heartbreak in the style of Nick Drake — shows how well that aesthetic can be mined across multiple compositions. It’s eerie and alluring, like a stranger’s comforting hand on your shoulder. Raposa’s video for the song is a one-shot zoom out that barely qualifies as a music video but is strangely appropriate in its calm simplicity. Watch, but more importantly, listen.
Decimation Blues is out 8/19 on Asthmatic Kitty.