New Music: Casa Lagarto – Shed It
Ottawa’s Casa Lagarto has released their brand new EP called Shed It, a six-song trip that features thick grooves and atmospheric textures throughout.
The band is comprised of well-established Ottawa musicians Jason Barkhouse (guitar/vocals), Arturo Portocarrero (drums/vocals), Travis Kinnear (bass/vocals), Jonny Yuma (guitar/vocals), and Grant McNeill (guitar), some of whom are members of The Yips (RIP), Lost to the River, and Fire Antlers.
Casa Lagarto is the reincarnation of sorts—it was an old stomping rockabilly project that Jonny, Grant, Travis, and their pal Phil Horne had called Chero Chavo, which was active from 2013-2015. With an expanded and altered lineup, the band’s sound evolved in 2015 to become Casa Lagarto (the name being a nod to Jim Morrison and author Carlos Castaneda). With Casa’s new members Arturo and Jason coming from different styles and musical backgrounds, the group quickly rounded out its sound as a whole. To date, they’ve had plenty of action live, having shared the stage with such acts as Del Bel, Saxsyndrum, Bob Log III, Twin Peaks, Bloodshot Bill, to name a few.
Shed It truly sounds like it was written in a shack in the desert. There’s a looseness to the whole thing that makes the album easy to sink into, slowly taking the listener deeper and deeper like quicksand. The album is rich with reverb and jangly guitar tones, deep and groovy bass lines, and Arturo’s lax and unobtrusive drum rhythms resonating throughout. Jonny’s hollow strumming and deep, simmering vocals bring another dimension to Shed It, though, completing the spooky yet captivating aesthetic of the band.
According to the band, the album’s name refers to shedding the skin you’re in, or shedding the skin you’ve been. It’s a cunning reflection on the good, bad an ugly from the past, the masks we often wear throughout our lives—and a desire to burn old bridges in hopes of charting new paths towards healthier self-understanding.
Casa Lagarto might fall somewhere between Dirty Beaches and Timber Timbre with respect to their musical approach. They create atmospheric and cinematic soundscapes, building and maintaining a subtle tension throughout Shed It. The song “Desoronto,” for example, feels like the prelude to a pistol duel in a classic Western. The washed out and weary track “El Dorado” burns slowly, with instrumentation and lyrics that create dark imagery and places the listener directly into “the valley of the shadow.”
The group has already released videos for their songs “Lights Out” and “Scarecrow” (produced by Black Lab Studio), and are pleased to share a brand new one for “Deseronto” (above), which was shot and produced by Santiago Trugeda. Even more, they’re already heading back into the studio in March 2018 to start recording tunes for their next album, and concert-goers can forward to them hitting the road in the near future.
‘Shed It’ is an exclusively digital release which you can listen for free at their Bandcamp page or stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Dezer, and all streaming sites. You can also enjoy the stream below.
Stream