Kitsune

Marriages, Kitsune, Sargent House Records

Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox, who became a popular subject in Japanese folklore.  Kitsune possessed magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom.  What an appro-fucking-po title for the seamless Sargent House debut from Marriages.  Kitsune is a dense and moody, dynamic rock record that draws from experimental, psyche and goth influences.  Featuring 3/5 of the membership of instrumental, post-metal quintet Red Sparowes (including former The VSS, Pleasure Forever drummer Dave Clifford!), the six tracks here are as ambient as they are structural, as enveloping as they are emotionally isolating, and as haunting as they are bold.  Vocalist/guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle’s confident delivery is sure to earn the band comparisons to Souixsie and the Banshees and Cocteau Twins, although the massively fuzzy and bombastic presence of songs like “White Shape” allow the band to transcend a shoegaze tag, and fall in league with a heavier experimental acts like Boris.  Working with Toshi Kasai (The Melvins, Big Business, Tool), who the band collaborated with for earlier Red Sparowes records, the trio conjures a menacing and atmospheric aural burn.  Don’t call it a side-project; it’s a solid, muscular and remarkable effort by a skillful and visionary bunch. 

Recommended For Fans Of: Red Sparowes, Cocteau Twins, Boris