Monotreme Records: Picastro

Since the release of their debut album ‘Red Your Blues’ in 2001, Toronto-based Picastro have continued to mine a rich seam of beautifully melancholic (and sometimes menacing) avant-folk / rock.

Their fourth album, “Become Secret”, finds them on top form once again, with the familiar accompaniment of cello, acoustic guitar, drums and piano employed to great effect on songs that incorporate Eastern-European folk themes, bleak cinematic soundscapes and dark, unsettling pop.

Front woman and songwriter Liz Hysen shares vocal duties on several songs with guest vocalists including Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), Brendan Massei (Viking Moses), Colleen Kinsella (Fire On Fire, Cerberus Shoal) and John McIntyre

Lyrically, Hysen drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including Cormac McCarthy, Westerns and the Bible, as well as Antonioni’s film 'The Passenger'. (Hysen, an avid film buff who also makes Super 8 films as a hobby, says that the final album track, “The Stiff”, synchs up perfectly with the final scene of 'The Passenger'.)

The sleeve art, which was drawn by Josef Bolf, is based on The Temptation of St. Anthony.

Album credits:
Liz Hysen: vocals, guitar, piano
Stephanie Vittas: cello
Jim McIntyre: vocals (track 1)
Electronics: Dwayne Sodahberk (track 3)
Guitar, electronics: Greg Weeks (track 4)

Tracks 1,3,5,8 recorded by Jeff McMurrich in Toronto
Tracks 2,4,6,9 recorded by Greg Weeks at Hexham Head in Philadelphia
Track 7 recorded by Liz Hysen, Brendan Massei and Tony Dekker at Liz Hysen’s home

Bio:
Picastro (from Toronto, Canada) have received much praise for their broodingly beautiful, melancholic soundscapes, in which cello alternates in the lead with frontwoman Liz Hysen's submerged, murmured vocals. Picastro’s string-laden dynamics share a kinship with the music of fellow Canadians Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as The Dirty Three and Rachels. The band has played shows with Godspeed, Mick Turner (of The Dirty Three), Smog, Elliot Smith, Cat Power, Herman Düne, Cerberus Shoal and Thee More Shallows.

You may already be familiar with their music from the use of a track from the album in the hit Kiefer Sutherland TV drama ‘24’. Liz Hysen also appears on Cerberus Shoal's album ‘Bastion of Itchy Preeves’ and Dwayne Sodahberk's album ‘Unfortunately’ (tigerbeat6).

Other band members have included Owen Pallett (The Hidden Cameras), Evan Clarke (Burn Rome In A Dream), Zak Hanna (Bush League, ex-Pecola) and Rachel McBride.