Great new music – Cime

One of the things I love most about music blogging are all the up and coming bands and acts that get in touch to introduce me to their latest works, and the readers who tip me off about stuff I should be keeping an ear (or two) on.

The latest act to peak my interest slipped right into my Twitter DMs a few weeks ago. Southern Californian, Freak folk musician Cime, got in touch to introduce me to their forthcoming debut album, The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment, and about 30 seconds in I was instantly excited.

Introduced to me as, “partly Mejía Godoy, and partly Foxygen“, Cime’s debut is a fascinating sonic stew of sounds and influences, chaotic and beautiful in equal measure. Opening track, Compay (Independencia), is half Latin American street-party-starter, half late 60’s acid folk mind bender. Second track, Friends/Enemies (Earnest/Irony), sounds like the kind of joyous jam Holger Czukay might’ve composed had he visited Buena Vista Social Club. And it’s followed by, Cancion Para Guillermo (Song For Guillermo) and ¡Convicción! (Campaña Nacional), a psychedelic tour de force that starts like a Latin folk song and descends into a chaotic slacker rock stomper, like Isaac Brock’s rowdy Spanish speaking cousin leading the perfectly drunk street band through the back streets of a carnival. It’s a dizzying ride.

The latter half of the album expands even further on Cime’s glorious mélange of sounds – there’s and air of the percussive and found sound experimentation of Animal Collective, the early slacker folk stylings of Smog, the murky kosmische music of Can and the anti-folk mischief of acts like Dufus and The Moldy Peaches. I’ve listened to it six times, and every time I return to it I find new little melodies and pockets of oddness to enjoy.

Asked about the ideas and themes behind their debut album Cime said, “It is just as much about the history of Central America, with a particular emphasis on Honduras, as it is about my own life in the past year, and having to come to terms with who I am – having to accept myself – whether that be regarding my religious beliefs or my gender/ethnic identity. On that note, though, it is also equally about hope for Honduras, and for Central America, as a sort of call to action! Finish the experiment; we are not done.”

Cime’s album is filled with unpredictable turns and choices. A sound and mood they describe as like, “a massive ship rocking back and forth. Like a movie, it feels completely out of your control; you never know what to predict. Part of it was inspired by 60s and 70s mod and beat music, other parts are much more psychedelic. Some of the album is characterized by a strong cumbia/salsa rhythmic
backbone, other parts are maximalist, noisy, and chaotic – and, yet others, still, are soft, intimate
acoustic tracks–dedications to the people whom I owe the most.”

The Independence of Central America Remains an Unfinished Experiment, is released on July 1st–available on all streaming platforms, with CD and cassette tape editions released on Widecast Records. The album features performances from El Café Atómico, Composition Booklet, and Las Vegas-based math rock band Crochet, and production from KFC Murder Chicks member & multimedia artist DJ Rozwell.