Describing Quitzow is no easy task. While I find myself thinking things like, “Right on! Who needs lead guitars when you’ve got lead cellos” while listening to the album, actually finding the correct adjectives to properly explain the 632 things going on in the background of Art College is a little more complex. Honestly, I would have an easier time successfully pissing at the moon. The bottom line is that this album is so diverse that the general mad-libs style of album review simply will not suffice.

The group’s main contributor, Erica Quitzow, is no stranger to music. She pulls a bit of overtime in the group Setting Sun, singing backup and playing violin and cello in their live mix, and adding drums and keyboards to her résumé when the group records. Adding Rhodes loops, moog bass and MPC drums to her list of duties in Quitzow, Erica finds herself knee deep in tunes. Oh, and as though the above isn’t impressive enough, she’s also an active member of The Woodstock Chamber Orchestra.

But Quitzow’s most impressive quality lies within her abilities to not take herself and her gleaming talents too seriously. Her songs flow in and out of themes that range from rather serious in subject matter to topics that seem downright silly. Regardless of the content of the lyrics, each song sports a dance friendly, trip-pop sound. Nodding your head and shaking your ass is not optional so much as expected. While the album as a whole is really quite good, the first four tracks are absolutely stellar, and could easily be the key to Erica Quitzow’s success. But if nothing else, this album could easily slip into Popwreckoning’s albums of the year.

It really is that good. Please check it out yourself.

Quitzow: Myspace

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