Spectreview: Gralitsa – Little Mosquitos are Sleeping This Night

Released: May 5, 2021

Experimental
(Electronic)
(Dance)
(Avant-Garde)
(Trip-Hop)

-GREEN-

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What a peculiar record we’ve got here, one whose parts are so ungraspable it could be made of pure mercury. Gralitsa are a trio from Kostroma, Russia: one third vocalist, one third horn player, and one third synth architect, the band aspire to find an adventurous joy in the crossroads between collaboration and experimentation. That mission statement describes Little Mosquitos Are Sleeping This Night perfectly. Content-wise it’s a collage of frantic avant-electronics peppered with horn accompaniment (both from the saxophone and the traditional Nerehra’s horn) and Olga Rodionova’s light, fluid voice. Moving from one ruptured locale to another means there are few opportunities to grasp what’s going on, but its unpredictability is also exhilarating for that very reason. It’s one of those albums that’s almost impossible to guess what’s happening next, which is its own pleasure.

Without spoiling too much, I’d offer that its best tracks are its bookends – the icy sax-led plunge of “Ma’shenka” and the mesmerizing thread of visions that make up “12 Pictures of a Dream Near The Fire” – because of how they balance their individual deluges with delicate, accessible melodies. Everywhere else, the consistency of the band’s approach is what makes an imprint; upon a few complete listens, you’ll notice how its embryonic formlessness is less spontaneous than carefully conjured, almost undeniably distinct to this band. Because of this, Little Mosquitos are Sleeping This Night is an excellent outing from a virtually unknown group that, while perhaps requiring the right headspace to appreciate fully, won’t disappoint.

Recommended for charcoal tombstone rubbings.