Nick Stevens and self-professed “jazz / minimalism /
outsider pop” label Galtta Media are a perfect match for each other. Not only does
Stevens do the crooning electronic art pop thing like label stalwart Adrian
Knight, he enlists Adrian himself, fellow Galtta showrunner David Lackner, and
Galtta satellite artist Alice Cohen as his backing band here on “The New Age.”
What ensues are eight buoyant, generously jazz-inflected jams that fall
somewhere on the spectrum between Jens Lekman and Stephin Merritt.
Perfect for the evening getting later and later;
glasses of wine as the evening gets later and later; stepping out onto the
balcony of the penthouse; light-colored suits; excellent hair; romance; the
evening getting later and later – gosh, is it midnight already? Love and loss,
life on the breeze, and the sax solo takes us away. Somehow Stevens
specifically and Galtta in general tap into an incredibly universal suaveness,
but one with a dark secret, one that isn’t for general audiences. Nick Cave as
a lounge singer? Not crazy. Not a bad idea either.
Let’s see where we’re all going with this. … Back to
my place?
--Ryan
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