Cajita
"The Ellipsis" CD
Series
Two
Genre: electronic pop
Bristol, UK
November 2009 |
On The Ellipsis,
Cajita's Jay Chakravorty provides lo-fi,
electronic-infused pop music. The songs themselves are a tad
inconsistent - ultimately, this bedroom CDR might have benefitted
from being somewhat shorter - but there are several promising
moments present on here. In terms of influence, Chakravorty seems to
draw inspiration from those-usual-suspects Radiohead, as well
as other digital pop misfits like The Postal Service and
DNTEL. On blissfully infectious "Don't Panic" and spacey
"Daybreak," the band is at their best - weaving expansive atmosphere
with the types of hooks necessary to keep a pop album going.
However, even these songs could use more polish; the latter,
"Daybreak," would have benefitted by a more organized composition
and a more gripping chorus. Meanwhile, the Windsor for the Derby-esque
post-rock of "Stand-Up Comic" ranks as the
album's most enticing moment - its pulsing bassline and resplendent
horns excuse the vaguely droning vocals.
Echoing the album's
problem as a whole, several songs on The Ellipsis go on for
too long without enough to say - the drum machines become bland and
tedious, and the compositions reveal themselves to be repetitious
and lacking in direction. "Constant" and "You Ought to Know" are
prime offenders - even the neat, DNTEL-esque electronics of the
latter can't save it from being too drawn out and uninteresting.
Ultimately, Chakravorty's project shows a lot of promise, and The
Ellipsis boasts several strong songs of its own. However, some
more time in the cooker will no doubt benefit Cajita in the long
run.
cajita's
myspace
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 11 tracks, distributed by
the
label,
released 2009] |