Autoharps and banjos have never sounded so utterly sad. On their 2009
K Records debut,
Rotting Slowly, the gals and guys in
the Curious Mystery manage to capture a sparse sort of melancholy -- not too far off from the reverberated sounds created by '90s snore-core bands
Mazzy Star and
the Cowboy Junkies. Recorded and produced by
Calvin Johnson at
Dub Narcotic Studios, the elastic, push-and-pull tempos of drummer
Faustine Hudson and bassist
Bradford Button stretch songs from achingly slow to messy, tense, midtempo numbers and back again. The Northwestern four-piece thrives in the slower, molasses-churning pace, which better favors the velvet voice of
Shana Cleveland. Yearning with a sultry
Chan Marshall-esque moan on the gentler songs
"Preparation" and
"Nicaragua," she shares the microphone with guitarist
Nicolas Gonzalez for more demanding numbers like the Eastern-flavored
"Outta California" and
"The Community Bed." Sometimes difficult, other times meditative, the songwriting on
Rotting Slowly is consistently honest and rewarding. ~ Jason Lymangrover
