███ ███ █████ █████ ████ ██ █████ █████████ █████████ ████ ███ ██████ ███ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ██████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ████ █████ ██ ███ ████ ███ ████ ███ ████ ████ ███ ██ ████ ████ ████ ████ █████ █████ ███ ███ ████ ████ ████ ████ █████ ██████ ██ ███ ███ ████ ███ ████ ████████ ███ ███ ███ ██████ ██████ ██ ████ ███ ██████████ ████ ████ ███ ███ █████ ███ █████ █████ ███ ███ ████ ███ ██████ ██████ ███ ███ ███ ██ ███████ ███████ ███ ██ ██ ██ ██ █████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ ██ ██ ████ ██ ████ ███ ██ ███ ██ ██ ███████ █████ ██▒█ █▒ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ connoisseurs ███ ▒█████ ░░ of ░░ █████▒ ░▓██████████▒ ░░ classics ░░ ▒██████████▓░ ▒█████████████▒▒ ░░ ░░ ▒▒█████████████▒ █████ ** ░ ████ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ████ ░ ** █████ ████████ * *** ░ ░██████ ██████░ ░ *** * ████████ ████ ██ * ████████ ████████ * ██ ████ █░ ███ █░ *** * * █▒█▒▒██████▒▒█▒█ * * *** ░█ ███ ░█ ░ ███░ ███ ░ * █▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓█ * ░ ███ ░███ ░ ▒██████ ░ ▒▒ ███████▒ ████▒▒█ █▒▒████ ▒███████ ▒▒ ░ ██████▒ █████░ ▒ ██████████ ███ █ █ ███ ██████████ ▒ ░█████ █████░ ▒ ████▒ ▒ ▓█ █▒ ▒█ █▓ ▒ ▒████ ▒ ░█████ ████░ ▒▒ ███████░ ░░ █ █ ░░ ░███████ ▒▒ ░████ ████ ▒ ████████ ▒ █ █ ▒ ████████ ▒ ████ ▒███ ▒ ███▒ ██ █ █ ██ ▒███ ▒ ███▒ ██████ ▒ ███ █ █ ███ ▒ ██████ ░██████░ ▒▒ ███ █ █ ███ ▒▒ ░██████░ ░██ ░█▓ ▒▒ ████ █▒ ▒█ ████ ▒▒ ▓█░ ██░ ▒ ░ ░█ ▒▒ ░ ███▓ ▓██ ▒ ▒ ██▓ ▓███ ░ ▒▒ █░ ░ ▒ ░ ░██ ░ ▒█████░ ░█████▒ ░ ██░ ░ █░ ░ ▒ ░ ░ ▒ ░ ░█ █░ ▄▄▄▄▄▄████████████████████████████████▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░█ ▓█▄▄▄████▀▀▀▀▀▀ ┌▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀┐ ▀▀▀▀▀▀████▄▄▄█▓ ▄▄▄██▀▀▀▀ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ r e l e a s e i n f o │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▀▀▀▀██▄▄▄ █▀▀▀ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄└╤══════════════════════╤┘▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▀▀▀█ █ █ █ █ █▒ Artist - Ziemba ▒█ █▒ Title - Unsubtle Magic ▒█ █▒ ▒█ █▒ Genre - Indie Time - 37:20 ▒█ █▒ Label - Sister Polygon Records Size - 80.73 MB ▒█ █▒ ▒█ █▒ Format - Album Bitrate - 320 kbps ▒█ █▒ Year - 2021 Freq - 44.1 kHz ▒█ █▒ Source - MP3 Encoder - Lame 3.99.5 ▒█ █▒ ▒█ ▀██▄▄▄ ▄▄▄██▀ ▌░▀▀██▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄██▀▀░▐ ▌░ ▀▀▀████▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄████▀▀▀ ░▐ ▌░ ▀▀▀▀▀▀████████████████████████████████▀▀▀▀▀▀ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ▄▄▄┌─────────────┐▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▐ ▌░ ▒▒▒│ tracklist │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐ ▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ 01. Gushing Water 1:24 ░▐ ▌░ 02. Only Lonely Christmas 4:41 ░▐ ▌░ 03. Will You Haunt Me? 4:13 ░▐ ▌░ 04. Fear 4:51 ░▐ ▌░ 05. Set In Ice 3:20 ░▐ ▌░ 06. A Nightmare 3:05 ░▐ ▌░ 07. Sandia Crest 4:25 ░▐ ▌░ 08. Time Doesn't Freeze 5:08 ░▐ ▌░ 09. I'll Be Home For Christmas 2:37 ░▐ ▌░ 10. Unsubtle Magic 3:36 ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ▄▄▄┌─────────────┐▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▐ ▌░ ▒▒▒│ rip notes │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐ ▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ The holiday season is a horrible time to be grieving. Family ░▐ ▌░ gatherings and omnipresent nostalgia can amplify a loved ░▐ ▌░ oneÆs absence, becoming constant reminders of what is lost. ░▐ ▌░ RenΘ Kladzyk -- the songwriter, producer, vocalist and ░▐ ▌░ pianist behind Ziemba -- is acutely aware of that feeling. ░▐ ▌░ After KladzykÆs father suffered a stroke in December 2019 and ░▐ ▌░ died on January 2, 2020, Christmas associations were ░▐ ▌░ radically and permanently transformed. ZiembaÆs new full ░▐ ▌░ length album, Unsubtle Magic, navigates the holiday season ░▐ ▌░ through the lens of grief; journeying ôa year and a dayö from ░▐ ▌░ the initial loss through the following Christmas, a grim ░▐ ▌░ anniversary. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ôTime doesnÆt freeze just cuz you want it to,ö Kladzyk sings ░▐ ▌░ on the albumÆs third to last track, a soaring winter anthem ░▐ ▌░ that doubles as a childlike tantrum, lamenting the ░▐ ▌░ irrefutable nature of change. ôI donÆt surrender to this ░▐ ▌░ life!ö belts Kladzyk while an insistent chorus counters ôall ░▐ ▌░ you love youÆll lose.ö The music gets bigger and bigger, ░▐ ▌░ featuring a horn section carving out subterranean tunnels of ░▐ ▌░ sound, and then poof! ItÆs all gone. Only the piano remains ░▐ ▌░ with a stubbornly melancholic refrain. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ KladzykÆs piano sits at the beating center of the musically ░▐ ▌░ eclectic album, bearing influences ranging from zany New Wave ░▐ ▌░ to baroque pop to 1970s art rock. ôIt was my dadÆs piano, and ░▐ ▌░ was in my childhood home growing up-- the first piano I ever ░▐ ▌░ played on,ö said Kladzyk, describing the process of recording ░▐ ▌░ the upright Steinway at her home in El Paso, Texas, with her ░▐ ▌░ vocal mic carefully propped above the belly of the piano. ░▐ ▌░ Much of the album, like the piano itself, carries traces of ░▐ ▌░ the musical legacy of KladzykÆs father, including a cover of ░▐ ▌░ one of his songs: Set in Ice, penned in December 1974 while ░▐ ▌░ he worked as a touring musician under the moniker Aurel Roy. ░▐ ▌░ ôMy dad quit playing music when my mom got pregnant with my ░▐ ▌░ older sister, and he really didnÆt talk about that chapter of ░▐ ▌░ his life much. But it brought him so much joy when I began ░▐ ▌░ pursuing music in earnest,ö Kladzyk said. ôHe was my biggest ░▐ ▌░ fan and most trusted advisor, the person I shared demos with ░▐ ▌░ for honest, sometimes brutal feedback.ö ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ KladzykÆs dad was ôreally into Christmas -- he thoroughly ░▐ ▌░ inhabited Santaness,ö and cultivated a deep love of the ░▐ ▌░ holidays and holiday music in Kladzyk, who has released ░▐ ▌░ annual Christmas mixes for the past decade, and made a winter ░▐ ▌░ solstice EP in 2015. ôA lot of my earliest singing memories ░▐ ▌░ are singing Christmas carols with my sister year-round when ░▐ ▌░ we were little kids ù something that would have been pure ░▐ ▌░ torture for anyone other than my Dad. So Christmas music has ░▐ ▌░ always occupied a big part of my musical consciousness,ö ░▐ ▌░ Kladzyk said. ôAnd as an adult IÆve always been the person ░▐ ▌░ making the campaign for Christmas music.ö But although much ░▐ ▌░ of Unsubtle Magic takes place in a Christmas-tinged world, ░▐ ▌░ the album focuses more on the evolution of grief than it does ░▐ ▌░ on the æmost wonderful time of the year.Æ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ While early songs of Unsubtle Magic are marked with vivid ░▐ ▌░ descriptions of the immediate aftermath of KladzykÆs dadÆs ░▐ ▌░ death (Gushing Water, Only Lonely Christmas), later songs ░▐ ▌░ grapple with depression and the destabilizing nature of ░▐ ▌░ losing a parent (Fear, A Nightmare). In what Kladzyk called ░▐ ▌░ an ôalmost chronologicalö album sequence, Unsubtle Magic ░▐ ▌░ closes with a return to the holiday season via a campy, ░▐ ▌░ post-punk rendition of IÆll Be Home for Christmas, and the ░▐ ▌░ existential solitude of winter in the albumÆs title track. ░▐ ▌░ KladzykÆs writing is immediate and cutting, with musical ░▐ ▌░ arrangements that emphasize the volatile emotional minefield ░▐ ▌░ of a great loss. Will You Haunt Me pairs tensely staccato ░▐ ▌░ synths and lilting vocals with a description of the ░▐ ▌░ realization of her fatherÆs imminent death. ôOh holy night oh ░▐ ▌░ living hell,ö she sings, narrating a panicked inner monologue ░▐ ▌░ at the hospital. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ In ôunfortunate pandemic style,ö this is the first Ziemba ░▐ ▌░ album where Kladzyk never stepped foot in a recording studio: ░▐ ▌░ all vocals, synths and piano were recorded at her house in El ░▐ ▌░ Paso. Full band tracking happened remotely, with Kladzyk ░▐ ▌░ virtually attending sessions. At one point there was ░▐ ▌░ concurrent album tracking in three states. Players include ░▐ ▌░ many past Ziemba collaborators: Don Godwin (of Too Free, ░▐ ▌░ Clear Channel, Gauche, Beauty Pill, Zlatne Uste) who mixed ░▐ ▌░ the 2020 Ziemba album True Romantic was ôthe heroö of ░▐ ▌░ Unsubtle Magic. He played drums, bass, full horn sections, ░▐ ▌░ ample sleigh bells, and mixed and co-produced the record. Jay ░▐ ▌░ Heiselmann (of Grooms, Roya) contributed guitars; he plays in ░▐ ▌░ KladzykÆs country band Rhinestone and co-produced part of the ░▐ ▌░ 2019 Ziemba album ARDIS. Chris Gaskell, who also played on ░▐ ▌░ True Romantic, played bass, and longtime collaborator ░▐ ▌░ Elizabeth LoPiccolo played flute. Megan Gould (of David ░▐ ▌░ Byrne, Philip Glass, Giannis Markopoulos, Lou Reed) and Liam ░▐ ▌░ OÆBrien (of Lizzie No) contributed strings. ôEven though itÆs ░▐ ▌░ a full band record, itÆs also a very solitary record,ö said ░▐ ▌░ Kladzyk, explaining how most of the songs were born out of a ░▐ ▌░ year of living alone in the extra-isolating circumstances of ░▐ ▌░ the COVID-19 pandemic. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ Kladzyk, who works as a journalist at an El Paso news outlet, ░▐ ▌░ spent much of the past year reporting on the tremendous death ░▐ ▌░ toll caused by COVID-19. The scale of human loss in recent ░▐ ▌░ years weighs heavily on the record and shaped KladzykÆs ░▐ ▌░ intentions for making it. ôI used to think that I only wanted ░▐ ▌░ to make music that was uplifting or that had fundamentally ░▐ ▌░ positive messages that I was espousing. I donÆt really feel ░▐ ▌░ that way anymore,ö she said. ôThere have been times when I've ░▐ ▌░ been so overcome with sadness. IÆve really needed music that ░▐ ▌░ could commiserate with me and tell me that IÆm not alone in ░▐ ▌░ those feelings. And so thatÆs what IÆm trying to do with this ░▐ ▌░ -- offer these songs up for other people who need someone to ░▐ ▌░ commiserate with them in their pain.ö ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ But like much of KladzykÆs discography, Unsubtle Magic is ░▐ ▌░ fundamentally hopeful. ôScared for holidays and the way the ░▐ ▌░ present colors the past / I hope someday to love Christmas ░▐ ▌░ and believe in magic again,ö Kladzyk sings wistfully on the ░▐ ▌░ track Sandia Crest, recounting a starlit walk spent ░▐ ▌░ scattering her auntÆs ashes. The songs became their own ░▐ ▌░ medicine, a ôChristmas music immersion therapyö for Kladzyk ░▐ ▌░ to reframe the anniversary the next time it comes around. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ôI remember at one point driving back to the hospital when my ░▐ ▌░ Dad was there-- he was still alive but we knew he was going ░▐ ▌░ to die -- and I remember hearing a Christmas song on the ░▐ ▌░ radio and it triggering this cascade of painful feelings: ░▐ ▌░ like nothing would ever be good again, I would never be the ░▐ ▌░ same person again, this giant piece of my heart and my ░▐ ▌░ childhood and who I was, was now lost forever. And some of ░▐ ▌░ thatÆs true. But I remember feeling like, æOh I donÆt want ░▐ ▌░ this to be the case and Dad wouldnÆt want this to be the ░▐ ▌░ case.Æ So a lot of these songs stem from the desire to come ░▐ ▌░ to terms with this new world without my Dad, to still be able ░▐ ▌░ to celebrate and experience joy without him.ö ░▐ ▌░ credits ░▐ ▌░ released December 10, 2021 ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ All songs written by RenΘ Kladzyk with the exception of Set ░▐ ▌░ in Ice, written by Frank Kladzyk, and IÆll Be Home for ░▐ ▌░ Christmas, written by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent. ░▐ ▌░ Produced by Don Godwin and RenΘ Kladzyk ░▐ ▌░ Mixed by Don Godwin ░▐ ▌░ Mastered by Sarah Register ░▐ ▌░ Recorded in El Paso, Texas; Takoma Park, Maryland; Los ░▐ ▌░ Angeles, California; and Brooklyn, New York. ░▐ ▌░ Released by Sister Polygon Records ░▐ ▌░ Cover art by Dian Liang, design by Robert Beatty ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ Vocals, piano, synths: RenΘ Kladzyk ░▐ ▌░ Drums, bass, trumpet, tuba, trombone, tons of sleigh bells: ░▐ ▌░ Don Godwin ░▐ ▌░ Bass: Chris Gaskell ░▐ ▌░ Guitar: Jay Heiselmann ░▐ ▌░ Flute: Elizabeth LoPiccolo ░▐ ▌░ Strings: Megan Gould ░▐ ▌░ Strings: Liam OÆBrien ░▐ ▌░ Barks, doggie door swings, running across wood floors during ░▐ ▌░ very quiet takes: Penny ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ Special thanks to Don Godwin (!!! YouÆre amazing), Daniele ░▐ ▌░ Yandel, Anna Kladzyk, Adri Perez, Aidan Wachter for gifting ░▐ ▌░ me that magic microphone, and the choir of guardian angels: ░▐ ▌░ Frank Kladzyk, Marie Josephine (Ziemba) Kladzyk, Kathryn ░▐ ▌░ Brown, Thomas Kladzyk, Joan Lundahl Sr., Anne McCann, and ░▐ ▌░ Woody the wonder dog. ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ▄▄▄┌─────────────┐▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ░▐ ▌░ ▒▒▒│ marr │▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ░▐ ▌░ └─────────────┘ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ indie . pop . rock . shoegaze . dream . jangle . twee ░▐ ▌░ chamber . noise . c-86 . college . goth . post rock ░▐ ▌░ kraut . post punk . darkwave . alternative . lo-fi ░▐ ▌░ country . americana . folk . folk/rock . psychedelic rock ░▐ ▌░ progressive rock . metal . heavy metal . hair metal ░▐ ▌░ hard rock . math rock . grunge . classic rock . aor ░▐ ▌░ southern rock . west coast . punk rock . hardcore . garage ░▐ ▌░ avantgarde . classical . electronic . new wave . ambient ░▐ ▌░ synthpop . leftfield ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ▌░ ░▐ ░▌░ ░ █ █ ░ ░▐░ ▌░ ▓▓█ █▓▓ ░▐ ▌░ ░█ █░ ░▐ ▌░ █ ░ ▒ ░ ░ ▒ ░ █ ░▐ ░ ▌░██ ░ ▒█████░ ░█████▒ ░ ██░▐ ░ ▒ ░ ▌░█ ░ ███▓ ▓██ ▒ ▒ ██▓ ▓███ ░ █░▐ ░ ▒ ░██ ▌█▓ ████ █▒ ▒█ ████ ▓░▐ ██░ ░██████░ ███ █ █ ███ ░██████░ ██████ ███ █ █ ███ ██████ ▒███ ███▒ ██ █ █ ██ ▒███ ███▒ ████ ████████ ▒ █ █ ▒ ████████ ████ ████░ ███████░ ░░ █ █ ░░ ░███████ ░████ █████░ ████▒ ▒ ▓█ █▒ ▒█ █▓ ▒ ▒████ ░█████ █████░ ██████████ ███ █ █ ███ ██████████ ░█████ ▒██████ ░ ███████▒ ████▒▒█ █▒▒████ ▒███████ ░ ██████▒ ░ ███░ ███ ░ * █▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓█ * ░ ███ ░███ ░ █░ ███ █░ *** * * █▒█▒▒██████▒▒█▒█ * * *** ░█ ███ ░█ ████ ██ * ████████ ████████ * ██ ████ ████████ * *** ░ ░██████ ██████░ ░ *** * ████████ █████ ** ░ ████ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ████ ░ ** █████ ▒█████████████▒▒ ░░ ░░ ▒▒█████████████▒ ░▓██████████▒ ░░ ░░ ▒██████████▓░ ▒█████ ░░ ░░ █████▒ ███ ███ ██ ██ ▒█ █▒ https://www.deezer.com/us/album/271443052