Citay "Nice Cuffs"

While it might not meet the dictionary definition of a side project, Citay, consisting of Ezra Feinberg from Piano Magic and Tim Green from The Fucking Champs, among others, certainly feels like one. It may or may not end up as the day job for either or both, but it's got the experimental, genre-sampling mix-em-up feel of something that's not being relied upon to pay the bills. "Nice Cuffs" (mp3) is the self-titled album's highlight---a virtual name-that-style pastiche that somehow manages to cohere and create something original from the stew of influences it's working from. It begins with a plucky opening reminiscent of XTC's "Senses Working Overtime" before launching into a pitch-perfect rendition of pastoral/psychedelic Zeppelin ("Bron-y-Aur", "Battle of Evermore"). After about a minute and a half, an unexpectedly metallic guitar fret romp appears from nowhere---one that instantly made me think of Steely Dan's Can't Buy A Thrill as interpreted by Joe Satriani, or maybe a slow Kirk Hammett riff. The last minute or so carved itself into my skull like a raga, leaving me a little bit speechless.

Dig Citay's myspace here. Citay will be released on Important Records.