Michael Patrick Brady

My review of the new Castanets album, Texas Rose, The Thaw and The Beasts ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

This is a “post-country” album, mixing traditional folk and country elements with progressive accents spread throughout. The traditional sounds are used in unconventional ways, giving Texas Rose a unique, desolate sound that seems on the brink of complete decay. It takes a while to get comfortable with Ray Raposa’s vocals and the wayward shamble of the music, but eventually the desolate mood takes hold.