Each Measure Feature: Kristen Castro
FEATURE
A bright, peppy guitar hook is the first thing that greets you in Kristen Castro’s “Summer Rain” single. Like a faded pastel postcard from a summer fling, Castro whisks listeners away with a string of romantic images capturing perfectly the scents, images, and feelings of a well-loved season.
The rhythmic movement of Castro’s latest carries the song along in a colorful burst of energy. There is something cinematic about the movement of Castro’s latest tune. The juxtaposition of the rhythmic guitar and dreamlike quality of Castro’s lighter-than-air voice leaves plenty of space for one’s imagination to fill with images: a road trip with friends, a wild solo journey to a new destination, an afternoon in the sunny dredges of August… The rhyming couplets serve as flickers of new sensations, like slowly turning a kaleidoscope.
“An underwater song, wanna hum along. Can’t make out the words, but every second hurts.” Through the lyrics’ seeming fragmentation, there is a throughline that ties it all together. To me this song reminds me of those blissful days assessing the clouds passing by and tapping into the stream of consciousness that exposes both the superficial and delicate alongside the profoundly beautiful. A poem of duality and the endless dance between polarities, not unlike the mixture of emotions during a rainfall in full summer.
And the face behind the song? Kristen Castro is a queer Mexican American multi-instrumentalist. Writing, singing, and producing, her music truly reflects her constellation of identities and talents. Her musical interest from the age of ten has brought her to sharing the stage with many big names as well as carving out a space for her own fusion of Americana, electric, country, and art pop styles both as a solo artist andas a member of other groups such as the trio Maybe April. Her journey as a musician continues to move with grace and excitement as she pushes her own skills in new directions while soaking up the wonder and magic of being a musician.
I couldn’t resist but listen to the other tune on the “Summer Rain” mini-release. “Malibu” is just as soulful and gorgeous as the first; this song travels down a nostalgic (and romantic) lane. Her style sounds both totally cozily familiar (Japanese Breakfast, anyone?) and completely new, a sound to traverse generations and genres and speak to the pure joy of music.
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