Tasty New Tracks from the Rice Cakes

With vague psychedelic musings, Roz and the Rice Cakes’  latest record Devotion continues where the Close Encounter EP left off in their discovery of new sonic spaces.

While their last full record captured a pure energy, Devotion takes a step back to explore what lies between moments of explosion. The band works to pack each track full of breathable moments driven by contemplation and meditation. Lines and phrases that repeat like mantras create a cyclical atmosphere that allows lyrics and pieces of songs to reshuffle and reorder themselves to be remembered – but not quite in the same way as when they were first heard.

Devotion is marked by the strict triangle of instruments that make up the Rice Cakes. Justin Foster on bass, Roz Raskin on keyboards and Casey Belisle on drums form the backbone of these songs, with each instrument standing out as an independent piece of the whole. Roz’s lyrics offer both surreal and hyper-literal commentary on the times we find ourselves in. While Roz usually handles the vocals, Casey takes the lead on a couple of tracks this time, including a standout,

“Revolving.”

The track “Houdan the Mystic” brings the album to its satisfying near-conclusion, fully embracing the pseudo-spiritual realm the band is exploring. Mysterious, swirling and contemplative, Devotion brings the Rice Cakes into a broad new territory, unafraid of what lies in the great beyond.