While labelmate Sufjan Stevens got all the praise this year, Castanets released an excellent album in “First Lights Freeze”. I hear a small amount of Velvet Underground influence in these songs, but they fall more in line with the Will Oldhams of the world in my opinion. The band which features members of other groups such as Pinback, Rocket From the Crypt, and Tristeza centers around leadman Raymond Raposa, a prodigy who tested out of high school at age 15. Have a listen to a few tracks……
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