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Reviews

Alexis Castrogiovanni — Someday My Thoughts Will Be Like a Range of Mountains
(Bandcamp no#, 2022, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-10-14

Someday My Thoughts Will Be Like a Range of Mountains Cover art

Using a term like “singer-songwriter” for an artist like Alexis Castrogiovanni is more than a little misleading. Images of a coffeehouse crooner with an acoustic guitar or a keyboard performing heartfelt folk-oriented songs are not at all related to what this experimental artist does. First of all, her primary instrument is the cello, and all of her pieces feature it in some capacity, though not always in a straightforward manner — it’s augmented by a variety of treatments and effects. Her backing band consists of Tasy Hudson (drums), Michael Borkovic (baritone sax), Liam Welch (bass guitar), and Alexandra Tibbitts (harp), though their contributions are often obscured by all the processing (it’s also possible that they are not all present on all the tracks). Borkovic’s sax in particular provides elements of chaos, a jazzy flavor that really elevates the music, though it may also confuse listeners not accustomed to such eclectic fare. Castrogiovanni’s voice is mostly on the soft and breathy side, though it doesn’t come off as wimpy or unexpressive, and she has a way of focussing her intensity at times that carries a lot of emotion. All four of the tracks on this EP have charms, and range from the delicate bass-and-harp backing of “To Catch a Feeling,” which is broken up by thunderous drums, to the skewed indie-rock of “Ex-Girl” with its catchy plucked cello riff in 11/4. The title track starts quietly with looped or overdubbed cello to back a sensitive vocal, and uses the bari sax as a surrogate bass, then peaks with a massive cello choir. “A Certain Point” is the most upbeat song, less than two minutes of bouncy, twisted rock. Someday My Thoughts Will Be Like a Range of Mountains is an all-too-short introduction to a very interesting artist, and I hope to hear more from her soon.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Alexis Castrogiovanni

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