Deathwhisker

Highbrow, introspective bedroom-pop album from Cynthia Nelson (Retsin, Ruby Falls), who plays drums, sings, and plays guitar, recorder, harmonica, and melodica, and newcomer Anna Padgett, who writes and sings the words and plays guitar. They are joined by Tara Jane O'Neil (Retsin, Sonora Pine, Rodan) who plays guitar and bass and handled production/recording duties, Tara Key (Antietam) plays guitar on one song, and Ida Pearle (Retsin, Ida) who lends hauntingly gorgeous strings to two songs.

It’s getting on a little over two years that these girls have been playing together, usually quietly, in a windowless practice space on Stanton Street in NYC. That’s not to mention the time they spent preparing to first share these sounds with each other, during their respective forays into the otherworlds of Louisville and Los Angeles. But now The Naysayer belongs in the world at large, because the songs have just gotten too good. Anna’s delicate strumming reeks of a veteran, and her lyrics embody the wisdom we need to laugh at ourselves (in horror). Cynthia’s drumming is creative and involves other tools, like melodicas and tambourines, as well as her familiar harmonic warbling. Breathtaking songwriting, a sleek and scary analysis of existence hidden in truly enjoyable tunes. As the title cut says, "It's pretty, but it's very, very heavy."