by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
If nothing else, Cal Fish’s upcoming album Less Than Three is an ambitious project, and yet it’s so much more. To call it an “album” feels like a bit of a misnomer, as the multi-media release does indeed include an album, but also encompasses a clothing line, a visual record, and a remix album, all released simultaneously by the Brooklyn based artist. The double CD, which comes packaged in custom embroidered pouches hand-made by Cal Fish, is due out on June 3rd, the latest in a string of prolific releases. Written in the early days of quarantine back in 2020, Fish invited friends to collaborate on vocals, videos, and remixes, with contributions from Lily Konigsberg, Lucia Arias, Frank/ie Consent, They Are Gutting A Body of Water, and more. With a heap of guests involved, it’d be easy for Cal Fish’s vision to be lost in the mix, but everyone truly comes together to deepen the picture, forming a cohesive piece of music.
Having already shared the Konigsberg assisted “Softest Breath” and the Itchykisses assisted “Come Out Door” singles, today they share “Aglet,” featuring guest vocals from Lucia Arias. The Turnip King bandmates are no strangers to writing together, and there’s a worn in comfort to their collaboration. The sound of Cal Fish’s music is utterly gorgeous but uniquely hard to pin down, with a kitchen sink of influences that include bedroom pop, shoegaze, ethereal psych, new age, and maybe some touches of “new weird Americana”. It all swirls together in blurs and clouds of manipulated flute, synths, and electronic elements, but the seams are nowhere to be found as everything becomes flawlessly balanced. The video, directed by TAGABOW’s Doug Dulgarian, take projections of a bag caught in a tree and filters them over hand cut shapes and toys, for a very lo-fi visual art school aesthetic that goes well with the song.