Castanets

Raymond Raposa is the creepy kind of guy who has just enough genius to stay on the critics' radar but off the police lineup. He is the core of Castanets, a ragtag band that creates dark, disturbing and whispered odes of frustrated redemption. Like Will Oldham, Raposa croaks and moans his way through warped country blues, paying homage to Captain Beefheart through the eyes of Hank Williams Sr. He occasionally veers dangerously close to pretentiousness, but Raposa pulls it off because he's candidly scary at all the right moments.