Nora Keyes

Nora Keyes, formerly of LA's Centimeters, is one of my favorite musical weirdos. Whereas her former band took a lot from 80's new-wave and Ralph records aesthetics, Nora's solo project is more of an extension of her creepy vaudeville old lady personality (a compliment!). Her new CD, Songs to Cry by for the Golden Age of Nothing, just released on Duelplover records, is really fucking brilliant. The most distinctive quality of Nora's music is her singing, which veers from a operatic witch's cackle, to a little girl whisper. She backs this up with her pump organ and a variety of musical guests accompanying her on saws and violins among other things. The production of the record sounds like an old '78, but not cheesily nostalgically so. The song Old Folks sounds like a short-wave transmission...and effect achieved, according to Nora, by accident because the master was lost and she had to record it on a shitty boombox- which she last saw in a homeless man's shopping cart. Small Apart Look at You You're Ugly The Show is Over Nora is also a fantastic artist. "The Tragedy of Dr. Promise and the Origin of the Fatterpekis"