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Clay’s Take: As we approach the vernal equinox, why not discuss an album entitled “Solstice?”  Atlanta band Cinema Novo has expanded from a duo to a trio (with the addition of bassist Matthew Klem) and released their sophomore EP paying homage to its recording date on the shortest day of the year.

“Recorded in a day?” you ask?  Yes, under six hours to be exact.  Several tracks were recorded in a single take with no alternate recordings.  The feel of the album contains the progressive, math rock energy of their debut and matches it with the ferocity of a live show.  There are some familiar tracks, like “Pandemic” as well as “Poppies and Petroleum” that are filled out with the addition of Klem’s bass riffs.

The album eases in with the watery and dreamlike “Inverno” that plays like the soundtrack to a sinister 16-bit video game and crashes into version 2 of “Pandemic.”  “Vehement Suspicion” feels like the most live track as it goes into full “oh, hell yes” mode in the final third of the song.  The final track, “Nomadic Foxes Float Like Silk,” has a broad sweeping backbone and like “Book of Idols” alternates pace in an almost herky-jerky way.  By the time the six track EP closes, one thing is for certain: Cinema Novo knows how to reduce their fans’ brains to the grey goo of rock awe.

Are you looking for that live-take, math rock kind of awe?  Then go download Solstice.  You can go to their bandcamp page and name your own price.  How much would you pay to have our grey matter turned to mush?

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