When laptops are added to folk-pop music, the resulting melodies are (more often than not) atmospheric. Cajita begin nearly every song on The Ellipsis with those swirling, spacey sounds. Featuring a variety of instruments, from trumpet to standard guitar, Cajita appears much more a group than one man with an occasional partner. Jay Chakravorty takes on the brunt of creation and performing, including all programming, guitars, keys and vocals. The trumpet is resigned for Jim Cornick.

Each song on The Ellipsis is a distinct unit with a defined pattern, much like the post-rock genre, where songs typically begin soft and subsequently build for an epic conclusion; these songs follow a similar path. You might not be sold in the opening moments, but by the end Cajita never fails to wow. “Don’t Panic” starts soft but grows to include an immense electronic percussion. “Constant” climaxes with compounding vocals that will make you dizzy. “Walk / Don’t Walk” concludes with a breathtaking harmony a capella.

That’s exactly what you can expect from everything on this album: hard-hitting, awe-inspiring folk-pop with a hefty electronic side. And it’s good… very good.

Cajita: Don’t Panic [mp3]

Cajita: Walk / Don’t Walk [mp3]

Series II Records [CD, 2009]

1. Don’t Panic
2. Constant
3. Walk/Don’t Walk
4. Daybreak
5. The Ellipsis
6. Target
7. You Ought To Know
8. Stand-Up Comic
9. Severed
10. (…)
11. First