Cairo Gang
Untouchable
Release Date: Mar 24, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk
Record label: God
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Album Review: Untouchable by Cairo Gang
Exceptionally Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 9.2/10
On The Cairo Gang's 2015 LP Goes Missing, Emmett Kelly utilized a nomadic recording process to help shape a record that sounded equally as mired in wanderlust. That record's high points?and it was nearly all high points?anointed Kelly as one of underground rock's most talented songwriters, as well as a formidable guitarist and singer. With Untouchable, Kelly has raised the stakes even more, now fully embracing some of the more outwardly power-pop sensibilities he'd hinted at in previous records.
Based on rating 8/10
When the time came to record the fifth Cairo Gang album, Emmett Kelly decided to switch things up. He didn't really need to since the previous album, 2015's Goes Missing, was something of a baroque jangle pop mini-masterpiece. Since he had been moonlighting as a member of Ty Segall's band, it felt like a natural step to work with Segall on Untouchable.
Opinion: Excellent
Untouchable plays as a dream interpretation of what radio used to sound like — but really never did — channeling glam rock's showbiz drama, jangle pop's emotional sentiment and punk's detached cool in equal doses. Known for his session man skills and live collaborations with Will Oldham, Beth Orton, Angel Olson and others, The Cairo Gang's primary informant, multi-instrumentalist Emmett Kelly delivers a bumper-free concise set of proper band-sounding, foggily familiar stylistic contradictions. "Broken Record" drops smack-dab in the middle of what sounds like a long-lost Hell/Verlaine hallmark, punctuated with an unforced, genuine vocal delivery and chiming guitar scales.
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