Often folk acts are as meek and delicate in person as their music would suggest, and Toronto four-piece Picastro are no exception. After L.A.-based Pehr Records released their 2002 debut, Red Your Blues, Picastro inexplicably left the label. Refusing to step on any toes, the band remained tight-lipped about the affair despite claiming how awful the experience was. Singer/guitarist Elizabeth Hysen immaculately personifies this innocuous, victimized pathos, suffering from hyperaesthesia-- a sensory condition in which victims suffer from increased sensitivity to stimuli (think Daredevil).
Appropriately, Metal Cares exudes a sound seemingly tormented by sleep-deprivation, pain, and-- most pressingly-- fear. Hysen's vocals are much more prominent in the mix than on Red Your Blues, allowing her every grief-stricken crack and murmur to resonate above the equally tortured instrument parts. The track list serves as a peek into Hysen's neuroticism with titles like "I Can't Fall Asleep", "Teeth and No Eyes", and "Sharks", named after one of Hysen's foremost phobias. However, Hysen, a straightforward, no gimmicks songwriter, keeps the lyrics short and cryptic, not to mention unintelligible. On the chorus of "Dramaman", Hysen wails indecipherably amidst shrieking strings, while the ballad "Sharks" builds to a muffled chant sounding like "bigger hunter, hello hunter". Good luck trying to decode "Ah Nyeh Nyeh."
With her garbled drawl, Hysen could pass for a German laptop pop artist, though her bandmates' instrumental workings borrow the most from that genre. Rather than adopting the punchy, infectious folk-pop of past tourmates Cat Power or Smog, Picastro are content with allowing their songs to methodically unfold. Opener "No Contest" patiently unfurls on a cyclical acoustic riff for two minutes before finally revealing the song's subtle yet gorgeous refrain. Despite this asceticism, the album still contains several beautiful, striking moments between the gossamer acoustic strumming and haunting strings .
Hysen's hushed, sparing vocals leave a lot of open space between verses, but she's hardly twiddling her thumbs during that time. For all the allure Hysen's voice generates, her acoustic/electric interplay with guitarist Zak Hanna is the true glue that holds the LP together. "I Can't Fall Asleep" builds to a jarring chorus that features Hanna's reverb-drenched electric against Hysen's dissonant, ringing acoustic. Closer "Blonde Fires" puts a warmer, more inviting spin on this interplay, allowing the guitars to intermittently carry the lead melody. It's a sound awkwardly caught between Elliott Smith and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, balancing pretty acoustic melodies with chillingly shrill clangs and screeches. But hey, that's the unapologetic, enigmatic Hysen for ya; for all we know, part of her probably wants to be "Miss Misery", but the other half simply can't stop freaking out over sharks.
