Though it’s composed of five tracks previously recorded as Witches, local songwriter Cara Beth Satalino’s new EP Creature of Nature, released under the guise of her Outer Spaces project, manages to feel like a fresh start. The opening and title track sets the tone, plaintive and quietly powerful, muted electric guitar solos snaking through the song’s mist.
“Roy” and “Do I Sound Like Myself Now” are acoustic stunners, the former a warm and haunting tune wherein Satalino examines her future (“I’m getting so old/ Just look at me,” she sings), the latter an ode to both longing and acceptance.
As brief as it is, Creature of Nature seems a little like two separate products. Half the tracks were recorded with Baltimore producer Chester Gwazda; those songs are lighter, shimmering things and also more lyrically obtuse. The other half, engineered here in town by Joel Hatstat, feel claustrophobic, both in tone and message. At the EP’s end, I’m left wanting more of each.
Stream/buy Creature of Nature on Bandcamp.
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