Double On Time

Description

For 30 years, the Toronto band Picastro has been developing an intense and singular form of indie rock, marked by unique instrumentation, unsettling dissonances, and a highly personal approach to form and dynamics. The vision of singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Liz Hysen has shaped the project’s sound throughout these three decades, despite the presence of a multitude of collaborators, some who have come and gone, others who have returned. Among them are Owen Pallett, Brandon Valdivia (aka Mas Aya), Stephanie Vittas, NickStorring, Matthew Ramolo (aka Khôra), Germaine Liu, as well as members of iconic Toronto bands such as Eucalyptus and Pecola. Their upcoming EP, Double On Time, is Picastro’s first release on the Toronto label We Are Bodies, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. Liz Hysen has always made it a habit to explore surprising sounds with each new recording. With her 2009 album Become Secret, Hysen abandons the rich, full sound of her first three albums to create an atmosphere of strange austerity. Exit, released in 2019, incorporates a modular synthesizer (courtesy of Matthew Ramolo) into the core lineup, and most of the vocal parts are entrusted to male guests, from Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) to Chris Cummings (Marker Starling). Despite these striking contrasts, Hysen’s disarming blend of vulnerability and aggression remains intact, and this is confirmed on this new album, all the more so as the choice of themes addressed reinforces this characteristic combination.