Montreal-based band The Painters share Single Cell Nostalgia, a new EP via their own label, EEL RECORDS.
The opener, “That Could Be Me,” offers playful musings on one-sided feelings, pillowed on jangly guitars akin to The Feelies and a Motown-esque rhythm section. The Neu-esque “Nameless Star” portrays an intergalactic missed-connection through a kraut-pop rocket ship ride, shedding and adding layers as it soars through space. “I Live Everywhere” sees the band take a sharp turn into lounge; warbled guitar leads weave through softly strummed minor chords and delicate bongo hits while singer Alex Bourque details a romantic impasse in a sardonic tone worthy of Kevin Ayers. The closer, “Infinity,” is a plain-stated plea; a nod to a moment that asks only to be remembered, evoking Yo La Tengo in its cutting, straightforward emotionality.
Sitting at 11 minutes, the four-song release is equal parts lighting-in-a-bottle and the result of years of obsessive, meticulous production skillbuilding. The EP was mixed and mastered by co-producers and multi-instrumentalists Josh Boguski and Michael Halls (both also of Whitney K, whose new record, also produced by Halls and Boguski, is slated for release this September on Fire Records).
Where their debut full-length The Painters LP (2023), a kaleidoscopic, synaesthetic aural canvas that Americana UK called “a wonderful collage,” was the result of relentless overdub recording sessions, Single Cell Nostalgia is the band at their most concise, opting to say less with more through short, tightly-arranged songs, recorded live ‘off-the-floor.’ While disparate in style, they form a cohesive narrative on loneliness and star-crossed love.