In a world of immediacy, of speed, of here and now, we have lost along the way those musical offerings that caress you, that cradle you, that seem to accompany our sadness and turn it into something beautiful. What bands like GALAXIE 500, RED HOUSE PAINTERS, LOW, COCTEAU TWINS, MAZZY STAR, or more contemporary ones like CIGARETTES AFTER SEX, WARAHENEGE, or Joni used to do. That is why we listen to every new release from BUBBLE TEA AND CIGARETTES as a gift, an opportunity, a narcotic journey into the depths of our emotions. We have experienced each of the five singles they have released over just over a year in this way, and now the time has come for a grand celebration, because the first album by Andi and Kat, “There’s Nothing But Pleasure,” has arrived.
A very special release that includes those five singles as well as three wonderful previously unreleased tracks. An album that delves into the preciousness found in silence, in that magic of slow tempos that seem to beat to the rhythm of our hearts. Where the voices of Andi and Kat, the reverbs, the delays, and the crystalline guitars create a sense of false fragility, that everything could break at any moment, of restraint, and, therefore, of emotion. The violins of “Cigarette Butt” (moving); the rhythmic march of “He Asked Me To Quit Smoking,” which reminds us of some of Dusty Springfield’s saddest moments; the desert evocation of “Santa Mónica,” which Chris Isaak would have loved to have composed. The melodic perfection, that guitar arrangement, and the impossible title “Go Downstairs To The Blue Moon, Buy Some Fried Chicken,” the fifties spirit of “Leap,” the nostalgic dreaminess of “Liz,” or the sense of unreality in “5AM Empanada With You.” With nocturnal themes where tobacco smoke seems to take sonic form, and full of hedonism, the songs benefit from the great mixing work of Anthony «Rocky» Gallo(Norah Jones, Cat Power, THE XX, CIGARETTES AFTER SEX, THE KILLERS, THE CLIENTELE…) and the mastering by Greg Calbi (Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, David Bowie, TAME IMPALA, ARCADE FIRE, St. Vincent, PERFUME GENIUS, BLONDIE, Aretha Franklin).
And that “There’s Nothing But Pleasure,” where they bring out their most spacious side, evoking a cosmic Francis Lai and his wonderful soundtracks or a BEACH HOUSE at the height of its powers, a tour de force that grows almost without us noticing, and that in just three minutes places us on the edge of a cliff. And we look down and everything seems so beautiful. We cannot give up. We have to jump, and fly, and press play again, without realizing we have already done it. Because behind the clichés that associate sadness with slow tempos, they discover pleasure, humor, reverie, and a great deal of beauty. And that is something very few know how to tell.
