Half-Handed Cloud
Halos and Lassos
Asthmatic Kitty
By David Chiu
It is no surprise upon hearing Half-Handed Cloud’s album that there is a Sufjan Stevens connection. Aside from the eclectic instrumentation (Halos and Lassos is dominated by a keyboard sound as if lifted from a Casio) and obtuse lyrics that the two acts share, they are also both on the same record label, and Half-Handed Cloud’s John Ringhofer has been a touring player with Stevens. Remarkably, there are 19 songs on the album, which only clocks in just less than 30 minutes, which gives new meaning to the term filler-free. The casual listener may not know what the abstract lyrics are about, but who cares. Halos and Lassos is a charming, poppy album—it sounds like a polished demo tape made in someone’s garage, which gives the record its distinct and quirky character.
NewBeats 