Itasca is vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist Kayla Cohen’s chosen handle for a string of intimate recordings that stretch back to 2012. Imitation of War is her first release in four years, and it finds her engaging with a rock sensibility more forthrightly than ever before, all while cultivating those folkish roots. Available on 140 gram virgin vinyl and CD February 9 through Paradise of Bachelors, these ten songs should please discerning fans of early San Francisco psychedelia and ears that crave their singer-songwriter platters dipped in edgy acid-folk.
Imitation of War is a significant progression for Kayla Cohen, the album’s songs unwinding with a calm assurance that adds dimension as the foundation gets strengthened by the bass of Evan Backer and the drums of Daniel Swire and Evan Burrows. Backer and Burrows both play in Wand with Robert Cody, who produced Imitation of War. Swire plays in Gun Outfit along with contributing to Itasca’s prior album Spring. But it’s Cohen’s vocals, warm and pretty, and her guitar, expansive yet focused, that make her latest such a pleasure to hear.
Opener “Milk” begins with just Cohen’s guitar, but bass and drums enter the scheme soon enough. The atmosphere is initially calm but with a gradual, subtle rise in urgency. There is a definite similarity to San Fran psych from before the early ’70s rot set in; a direct instrumental comparison can be made to Alexander “Skip” Spence’s masterful Oar.
There’s a tangible late night quality both songs share, though Imitation of War lacks the captivating damaged eccentricity of Spence’s underground classic. But Cohen makes up for this with clarity in execution. The title cut is even more rock focused, indeed the most rocking cut on the record, as the singing glides atop and reinforces Cohen’s folky bona fides.
“Under Gates of Cobalt Blue” shifts gears into solo acoustic mode but with an increase of psych-friendly electric accompaniment. Throughout, the song’s gentle tone is maintained. Following, the brief “Interlude” reemphasizes Cohen’s abilities as a fingerpicker, leading in to a return to the full band zone; “Tears on Sky Mountain” is a bit reminiscent of Chan Marshall’s Memphis period (sans horns).
And then “Dancing Woman” swings back to the solo acoustic end of the spectrum with a prime dish of Laurel Canyon-ish singer-songwriter vibes. It’ll sound mighty fine on a sunshiny summer morning while drinking coffee on the porch. It’s going to be a hot one. The glide of “El Dorado” retains that singer-songwriter aura as the rhythmic bedrock gets reintroduced. But the track keeps the refinement in check as Imitation of War is a cohesive statement rather than a stylistic hodgepodge.
The tempo shifting “Easy Spirit” stretches out to nearly ten minutes with psychedelia that’s been seemingly kissed by the disciples of the Dead. “Moliere’s Reprise” is another dose of solo glisten, progressively layered as it drifts forth, and the short closer “Olympia” intensifies the quality of Cohen going it alone, radiating like a rediscovered underground folk gem. In branching out, Imitation of War doesn’t lose its way. It’s another fine album from Itasca.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
