GAY/SEXY MERLIN release their 7-inch tonight (Thursday, March 17) at the Silver Dollar. See listing. Rating: NNNN
Building on the success of last fall’s split 7-inch with White Suede, Toronto weirdo indie rockers Gay (fronted by Foxfire bassist Neil Rankin) continue to explore the possibilities of the single format on this boundary-testing collaboration with Sexy Merlin, the solo percussion project of Sean Dunal (also of Foxfire).
Both acts work together on the A-side’s Asbestos, a soulful, upbeat epic that takes on tropical inflections thanks to Dunal’s rhythm work. The B-side is three linked songs two Sexy Merlin tracks bookend Cool Island by Gay, effectively serving as a trippy intro and outro.
Introspective and wistful Cool Island is the standout, sounding like it could have come out of early-2000s NYC, with Rankin’s soaring vocals landing somewhere between David Byrne and the Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser. They’ve clearly tapped into something special.
Top track: Cool Island
