Mary Lorson and Billy Coté have been making music together since they formed the early '90s NYC group Madder Rose. On Piano Creeps the two leave behind the indie pop world for more jazz-infused instrumental affair. Piano Creeps is available on The First Time Records.
Rarely does an album go by me that leaves me at a loss for words. I like to think of myself as knowledgeable in enough music genre, theory, and history to adequately describe anything, but Piano Creeps lies just outside my musical vocabulary. I've experienced a small amount of new jazz-rock, acid jazz, trip hop, and lounge music to know that Mary Lorson and Billy Coté don't actually fit into any of those categories. The duo meanders from beat driven jazz to piano and synth guided ambience and covers a broad expanse between. Hints of classical guitar give an almost Latin flavor to what would otherwise be hard enough to distinguish without the nod toward world music while violin is thrown about to make some tracks seem ready for their appearance on NPR.
Simply, Piano Creeps is as atmospheric and ambient as a dimly incandescent cozy romantic hole in the wall. The album ranges from darkly quixotic to soft and gentle. This is the kind of music that relaxes recreational drivers and invigorates young lovers. Pianos, guitars, violins, drums and Moogs mixed with the occasional chilled vocals from Lorson make the album richly complex while at the same time filled with simple pop sensibility.
Piano Creeps is equal parts Koop and Radiohead with a fair amount of Norah Jones and concert violinist (sorry, can't name drop this time) thrown in for good measure. Check out tracks like "Dig a Hole" and "Americana" to get a taste for the Lorson/Coté sound, and if you're even remotely impressed you'd do well to pick up the album.
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