C V L T S / Virgin Spirit on Mishka Records

Got this one in from Mishka, the clothing designer here in Brooklyn and this one is a clear pink split between C V L T S and Virgin Spirit, haven't actually spent any time with either of these groups until today

The C V L T S, from Lawrence KS, started out as a duo and seem to be on a on a more ambient path than say... Black Dice, similar DNA: getting together here and there with no name to record in the basement, a circle of amps, and make some noises...that being said this track, "Time Debt" is surprisingly delicate, they have pretty massive restraint, but then again Gaurav and Josh are good friends. They already have the advantage of knowing by now pretty much what the other is going to do. You don't hear any kind of competition. There's two main sounds at work here; a looping airy delayed big synth melody with huge spaces and a heavily sustained distorted guitar. Sometimes their winding melody almost syncs up together, a subtle harmony back and forth, following each others lead. A low rumble of trucks and miscellaneous loops play around in the back...but this is a nice ride between this dreamy synth and a scratchy guitar. Great to see they've worked with Atelier Ciseaux on this sold out cassette, smart atmospheric experiments.

The B-Side from Virgin Spirit, "Bathed in White" sounds like an underwater 78, muffled and then slowed down to abstract levels, with a just out of reach radio station fading in and out of consciousness. A weirdo dream state of half understanding, but mostly making it up yourself. No webiste that I can find for these guys...this might be their only purchasable release.

Trio C V L T S have long been a Мишка favorite, and are represented by the superlative Amdiscs label. “Time Debts” is a achingly pretty downtempo track that shows off the best of C V L T S. Virgin Spirit, a veritably supergroup made up of Party Trash and William Cody Watson (formerly Pink Priest), haven’t released much in the past, which is part of why we’re so pleased to be a part of “Bathed In White.”

Great package, as always from Mishka, who's going all out on these limited single/shirt pairings, this time letting everyone in on the colored vinyl. They're really going after a crazy variety of acts who seem to be somewhere on the electronic spectrum, but range from all the way dance party to underground goth to this subtle experimental tones. They even put out this remix EP on bandcamp around the release.