Surely You Noticed This

Kate NV “Plans”

Kate NV presents her titles in English but sings in Russian, which I suppose makes a certain amount of sense: In terms of reaching the English-speaking world, i.e. a substantial chunk of the potential market for her sort of groove-centric art rock, having the titles be understood and pronounceable is a matter of utility. The actual content of the music is so effective in terms of melody, groove, and texture that English lyrics are superfluous. (After all, plenty of indie records are sung in English but are barely comprehensible because the singing is muffled or mumbled.) “Plans” sounds like Kate Bush with the rhythmic edge of Interpol – jagged and thrusting, but also soft and hazy. About two minutes in the song takes a very welcome left turn into a sax solo apparently assembled entirely from samples. It’s a great bit of unexpected atmosphere that nudges the sort deeper into a Bush-esque hyper-romantic surrealism.

Buy it from Bandcamp.