Kamitani - Carla Cardinal (CD)

Kamitani
Carla Cardinal (CD)
Iscollagecollective
Japan, 2010
Compact Disc

What a dream. Carla Cardinal is the solo work of Kamitani, a member of the faded-snapshot-indie-pop group YODO. The album takes so many modest, understated left turns—all while retaining a consistent mood of happy/sad, window-gazing nostalgia—that it feels paradoxically like it could only be a compilation and like it could only be the work of a single artist.

Almost better to go into this one without expectations, but for those who like to know: The album starts in a muffled, lo-fi acoustic realm, moves through placid long-form synth minimalism reminiscent of recent Seasonal Work (and everyone) fave Aki Tsuyuko, and somehow crests with some honest-to-goodness beatmaking before tapering off gently with a few pieces centered around bubbling, clean-toned electric guitar. All of which is improbably good, especially lined up in a row. And the hairpin turns are so lightly handled that they often evoke a double-take—I’m often well into a track before it occurs to me how different it is from what came before. You can sample disparate clips to get a loose sense of how wonderful this all is, but the sequencing is a really crucial part of the experience.

Just snagged a couple extra copies of this one given the import price, but it is absolutely one my favorite things I’ve heard in a good long while.