Three Cherries

Much of the music on Sin Ropas' debut, Three Cherries, locates itself somewhere between the future and the past. Piano, banjo, and acoustic guitar sounds strike a sometimes uneasy alliance with eerie machine noises for a sound containing equal measures anxiety-producing-tension and archetypal beauty. Lyrically, you get the impression Tim Hurley (Red Red Meat, Califone) is not missing the opportunity to go deep into his own well when in "Tripped on Your Cape" he repeatedly murmurs, "You'll take the knife out," or when in "Redtooth," he sings "Mother can you hear me, it's too late for me to say/When you carried me in another way." "I Found Your Teeth" will remind those familiar with the music Hurley has helped create in the past that he is not afraid to indulge in atonal instrumental experiments that require very a specific time and headspace to appreciate. There are a couple of selections ("Little Cheater," "Tender Facial Rake") that fall into more standard rock configurations which are more immediately tasty but ultimately less nourishing than standout tracks like "Rabbit Dreams" and the aforementioned "Redtooth" and "Tripped on Your Cape."