Chubanai Records

Joe Mancaruso

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If you’ve ever read a novelist’s inner thoughts-like Joseph Conrad’s letters at sea, or Sylvia Plath’s journals-you know there’s nothing quite like seeing a bright person slowly forming a good idea. It's a similar pleasure listening to Joe Mancaruso’s China Shop EP.

There’s a relaxing, exciting quality of thinking-through in Mancaruso’s work. It's got the sounds of folk, noise rock, and blues, but there's something else, too. Listening to the album's sparse introspection and improvisational structure feels more like unearthing a fossil than consuming ready-made music. Joe and his listeners learn as they go.