Mascara Snake: “Portrait of a Man Holding a Skull”

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It’s rewarding to hear an artist explore new iterations of their creative life. It’s possible that there’s not another act we’ve followed more closely here than Paris’ Mascara Snake, and with good reasons. Portraits And Scenes finds the solo loop master taking up an acoustic guitar and embracing a much more full bodied sound, even as he further expands his sonic snapshots into robust, self-contained songs that each capture their own moment. “Portrait of a Man Holding a Skull” holds many unresolved possibilities: whether the character in question a conflicted Prince Hamlet [DRAMA!] a murderer fleeing with the evidence of a past crime, or a man leaning over a desk with head in hand after a long day staring at pixels is uncertain. Regardless, as the song’s earnest melancholy deepens with each added instrument, the listener becomes enmeshed with the highly interpretive sonic space, even as it refuses to define itself.

Mascara Snake: “Portrait of a Man Holding a Skull”

Portraits and Scenes is now available on Bandcamp