Welcome Crummy Mystics

VINYL FORMAT. Welcome Crummy Mystics is Frankie Sparo's third release on constellation, following a full-length in 2000 and the four-song Arena Hostile in 2001. It was recorded/mixed at the hotel2tango in Montreal by Efrim (mt. zion, godspeed, etc.) on various days throughout 2001 and 2002. As a duo, Sparo's earlier intimacy is preserved on Welcome Crummy Mystics; the fragility of guitar paired with Moss' piano/organ can be heard to great effect. With an additional element - bass, digital treatments - the carefully expanded palettes play with countervailing forms: modern jazz ballad & naive musicbox lullabye. But Sparo has also assembled larger ad hoc bands for various set pieces on the album. This diversity of strategies & materials is held together by more than Sparo's voice - there is a sensibility at work, amidst a minefield of influences, that prevails in every song, and by extension over the whole record. This extension amounts to a very beguiling mood enveloping a very fine & complex collection of poetic music; we can't think of humbler or higher praise. Certainly Sparo can be counted on for top-notch reflection & erudition in the lyrics dept., so if you enjoy language, give these a listen. Sparo is also responsible, with the help of N. Moss and her Workshop & Guidance Program, for the lovely original artwork on the album covers. Listen closely with the lights out.