On Frankie Sparo's last full-length, My Red Scare,he created his own brand of chilling folk mostly on his lonesome withthe help of some friends and labelmates. Now his group has grown to afull-fledged and powerful duo with the addition of Nadia Moss on anyinstrument with keys. He's also brought along some old friends from ASilver Mt. Zion: Sophie, Thierry and Efrim all play on the album withthe latter also handling recording duties at Hotel2Tango. The result isa growth from the previous record while retaining the same qualitiesthat made Sparo so engaging in the first place. Welcome Crummy Mystics is also a jarring, hair-raising listen, as the new orchestral direction Sparo started on Arena Hostilesees fruition with new original compositions that explore differentrhythms and musical forms. Odd sounds captured here and there make theheart jump, as does Sparo's voice and delivery. "Hospitalville"features compression effects that scatter and depurify the drums andSparo's vocals. He does it himself on "Back on Speed," screaming andletting his voice buckle under the pressure, backed at the end by abizarre choir. The minimalism of the past is still present on a fewsongs, such as "Sleds to Moderne" and "Bright Angel Park," but thearrangements and contributions of the guest musicians give the musicand performance amazing depth. The addition of Moss cannot beunderstated, however, as it is her instrumentation that is the mostvital, that separates these structures from others in the genre like somuch musical three-point lighting. Together, she and Frankie Sparo areforming a new language that they want to teach the world. It soundsgreat so far, and there's nothing lost in the translation. - Read More
