I always look forward to hearing something slightly obscure, and with the likes of James Blake and Jamie xx hitting the headlines in recent months it seems obscure might just be the ‘cool’ musical genre to be part of for the foreseeable future. Caro Snatch is definitely going for a place in this genre bracket with her mix of avant-garde, electronic, spoken word and operatic stylings on her latest release ‘Til You’re No Longer Blinkered’. So how does she fare alongside the likes of Blake and Jamie xx?
The only answer I can come up with for that question upon listening to this, her second full length album, is “not very well”. Caro Snatch has been releasing music for the last seven years and all I can think is that now, when her style would be appreciated most, she has run out of ideas. The songs on ‘Til You’re No Longer Blinkered’ are long and drawn out: The spoken vocal style is quite uncomfortable to listen to (imagine your grand mother talking to you in what she considers her ‘sexy voice’, it’s not very pleasant). Then there is the attempted singing: I say attempted because it isn’t very melodic, and any harmonies added are painfully out of tune. The only saving grace for this album is that some of the backing tracks are beautifully crafted. The transitions from electronic to classical influences are seamless and add a real depth to what on paper might seem quite empty and bland. However the vocal lines are so overpowering that it becomes near impossible to block them out meaning it is often hard to be able to appreciate the great production on the backing tracks underneath.
‘Til You’re No Longer Blinkered’ definitely can be categorised under ‘obscure’ music, however that doesn’t mean that it is also musically viable. Without the terrible vocals this record would be worth listening to, but then it wouldn’t be a Caro Snatch album. As it is, I can’t help but feel like some great musical ideas have gone to waste. 3/10
www.carosnatch.com
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