PASSING STRANGE
Passing Strange Pass Gracefully Through The Water And The Woods
By Bill Copeland on September 15, 2020
Passing Strange is the enigmatic Connecticut-based duo of pianist-vocalist Kate Mirabella and drummer Anthony Paolucci. From their opening track to their concluding 11th song on their new The Water And The Woods album, this pair manage to create tones, atmospheres, and vibes that color each of their songs with its own personality.
Opening cut “Weather Cold” jumps in with assertive piano playing, a moody melody that perfectly matches a drum patter beneath. Mirabella taps out an eerie tone as Paolucci spanks his drum pieces, his strikes make for a perfect foil for his duo partners’ piano grit.
“Linger” finds Mirabella tapping out a dark, feisty line. Her vocal, even darker, jumps out like a cat moving out of shadow. She is suddenly present, plaintive but unafraid. Her combination of plaintive voice and peculiar piano line are upheld by Paolucci’s plenitude of fills, a drum pattern that is as busy and as rich in notes as the upper registers.
Moving into a jaunty pace, “Won’t” features a catchy vocal line, Mirabella skipping ahead of the music then taking a vocal step back to match an engaging, locked in groove she plays with Paolucci. One can feel this mid-tempo rocker taking us somewhere. With as much foreboding air as the previous two tracks, “Won’t manages to keep us tapping our toes to its infectious feeling. A piano break makes one feel the song taking us out into the abyss and leaving us to wonder if it will ever escort us back.
“They All Do” has a piano ballad vibe in the way Mirabella’s piano line keeps getting lift, a climbing sensation as it reaches higher in dynamics, an expression. Her voice, more pretty than dark here, has breathiness that makes her vocal sustains come wide and go far, a comforting presence among struggle.
The stretchy piano and vocal expressions fill “Following Me Home” a feeling of endless energy and endless anxiety. This is real athletic jump rope of a number, moving through its repetition with spring in its piano step, persistent in its drum work. Within its tight framework, though, it gives us plenty of worry, beautifully expressed, something everyone in our modern day society can relate to.
“Pacific Northwest” has beautiful motion in its piano line. It suggest departure, travel, someone who might be going away for the last time. Sudden bursts of piano chord energy combined with minor key notes bring out a battle between sorrow and courage, a letting go of something not meant to be kept. A girlish vulnerability in Mirabella’s vocal timbre here makes one feel what the song is all about, and, a persistent but understated drum pattern supports the upper registers well.
A quiet ballad, “Drifting” builds upon a light piano melody that doubles back on itself for more emotive grist. Mirabella’s vocal here glides, in brief measures, across the melody, creating a sympathetic response in the listener to her sensitive delivery and theme. It’s uncanny how well Paolucci keeps a muscular drum presence in this low key tune.
Getting back into a peppy delivery, Mirabella’s run of action notes on “June” feel like someone is on the go. Her voice above it is almost as soft as a whisper. Contrasting vocal hushes with a constant unfolding of piano melody creates a dramatic tension that keeps one listening. A chase is on and one wants to know how it will end. Paolucci’s constant injection of fills over his motivating beat keep things in a jittery emotion that makes this all thing even more impressive.
With sudden stop-start motions in a mid-tempo piano action, “Seven” leads its drama down a consistent path. Its hip swagger keeps one listening, especially as Mirabella pushes her whispery vocal over the peaks and valleys of an involving groove.
Light rain piano notes keep “Magic” airborne, its skipping notes pushing politely forward. Mirabella’s soft vocal appeal reaches an emotion level in the listener. Something in her voice needs to be heard, a cry, an appeal. She needs to exclaim her adoration for another’s special charms. Paolucci’s stick work keeps its groove in motion as much as the upper registers. Quiet admiration has never rocked out this persistently.
Closing track “We’re Here” has a melodic line that doubles back on itself, repeating its emotive line to dig up more feeling from the earthy ground of this seemingly simple piece. Mirabella’s vocal, soft timbre playing peekaboo with the pretty piano recycle, something that can fit perfectly to any musical environment. Paolucci’s simple drum patter supports the piano work with a note for note support while also keeping things hip.
Passing Strange is certainly an interesting duo, one to watched closely to see where they are a year from now. Their creativity, originality, and talent are evident throughout this disc. Marrying Mirabella’s voice and piano to Paolucci’s drums work is a stroke of genius. Produced by Richard Demko at Greenwood Studios in Seymour, Connecticut and mastered by Vic Steffens at Horizon in West Haven, Connecticut, The Water And The Woods showcases the nuanced possibilities of the two instruments and voice while also showing how epic those few instruments can sound.
Passing Strange Share Their Journey to ‘The Water and the Woods’ and What They Want Most in the Post-Pandemic World
By Marisa Torrieri Bloom | May 18, 2020
I have a love-hate relationship with pianos in rock n’ roll. Sure, I can acknowledge the greatness of Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel — and the power of their music — but growing up, I didn’t feel super-connected to any of these artists. Piano, even on its angriest days, isn’t an electric guitar. As I began to cultivate my musical tastes as an adolescent, I longed only for artists who could empathize with my budding angst. Anything that veered too closely to Broadway territory wasn’t for me.
But when I discovered Tori Amos, something awakened inside of me, and a brand new affection for piano-driven alternative pop-rock emerged.
So recently, when a friend of mine turned me onto Passing Strange, a Southern Connecticut piano-and-drums duo that delivers the power of a four-piece rock band, I fell in love with the keys all over again.
Listening to singer/pianist Kate Mirabella and drummer Anthony Paolucci’s latest full-length album, The Water and the Woods (available on Spotify and Apple Music and most digital platforms) feels more like listening to Halsey — but with keys — than Tori. This is a good thing, as the record encompasses all of the moody swings I need in my music — high-energy songs that make you want to bop along, and more melancholy tracks that make you want to sink into your own nostalgic headspace. It’s like riding a roller coaster of sonic landscapes, from the uptempo “Weather Cold” to the heart-wrenching “They All Do” — my personal favorite, with its minor chord progressions and lyrics about broken love and longing.
We recently caught up with Passing Strange to talk about their songwriting process, and how they’re biding their time until live music resumes in the Nutmeg State.
Rockmommy: Your album The Water and The Woods is really great work. How did you come up with the songs and the concept for this particular body of work?
Kate Mirabella: It definitely wasn’t something I planned ahead of time. I was going through a very difficult time in my life and a painful breakup. Consequently, the songs seemed to all have a dark, gloomy sound and feel. That time in my life seemed like a maze of woods and fog, which inspired the album cover. The album title was inspired by a journal entry that I was looking back on. I was trying to describe the fundamental differences I was noticing in my current relationship. Despite having a deep level of love for each other, and years of making memories, we had different goals for the future and extremely different personalities. The line from my entry seemed to sum it up perfectly: “I liked the woods, he liked the water.”
Rockmommy: It’s amazing how you both sound so full — but you’re a duo. How do you write together? What’s the process like?
Anthony Paolucci: The song comes to me with piano and lyrics — finished, for the most part. Kate will play the song at band practice and I try to find the beat first, or the groove. After that, I play to the song, adjusting the tempo if necessary, complimenting what’s already there with as much or as little drums as possible — whatever it requires. My drumming style is actually a lot more aggressive, having played mostly in hard rock bands since I was a teenager. Back then, as a drummer playing with very technical guitarists and bassists, I always wanted to stand out. This band has been a wonderful challenge in that I only have one other instrument I need to accompany, and it’s a piano, something the drums can easily overpower if approached irresponsibly. Kate’s piano style is also very percussive, as she was originally a drummer too. So a lot of what she’s doing fills in what might be bass parts. It’s a delicate balance, but our chemistry is such that we’ve never had a problem doing the song justice.
Rockmommy: What are some of the topics that are near and dear to your heart as songwriters?
Kate Mirabella: I like when small, seemingly simple things invoke serious emotion. Some of my favorite writers and songwriters have a common theme of looking at something simple like a glove compartment in Death Cab for Cutie’s “Title and Registration,” or other observations in poems by Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, and Emily Dickinson. Something so small ends up creating existential questions. That’s something I definitely do in many of my songs.
Rockmommy: I’m digging the track ‘Weather Cold’ — is this a cautionary tale?
Kate Mirabella: This is as cautionary as it gets. “Weather Cold” is about the dangers of a young college girl who has nothing to lose and needs absolutely nothing from anyone. People think these types of girls can be tamed or just need a relationship to settle them down, but it will just leave you feeling like a train ran through your life.
Rockmommy: There’s something heart-wrenching about the song, “They All Do.” Can you tell me about that one?
Kate Mirabella: This song still breaks my heart every time I hear it. There’s something tough about playing a song years later and thinking about how much you were hurting at the time. The first line isn’t poetic license, I really was up at 4 in the morning when I wrote it. I had just ended a long relationship and was reflecting on how hard it had been to let that person in, tell them the most vulnerable things about myself, having them be a part of the family for years, and I just had this crushing realization that I didn’t have the strength or energy to go through it again with someone else. So, as someone who grew up on emo music, I went all-out on this song.
Rockmommy: I think my other favorite one is “June.” It’s dark but alluring, and I love it when you sing “the wrong time … will you ever make it right?” Can you tell us about that one?
Kate Mirabella: I had experienced a lot of loss during this time in my life. Friends dying far too young can really affect your outlook on life. When I wrote that line in the chorus, I was picturing myself running through the woods, trying to grab the hand of those who I wish I hadn’t lost, but their fingers always slip away. It was such a helpless feeling.
Rockmommy: You were playing a lot in Connecticut before the world changed in February. What’s your favorite thing about live performances?
Anthony Paolucci: For me, this is what I’ve always wanted to do, ever since my parents gave me my first KISS album at 3 years old. So I’m basically living my childhood dream – just without the millions of dollars and stage explosions. On a more artistic note, however, there is something profoundly gratifying about performing an original creation in front of an audience. It’s a form of artistic expression that I’ve always found incredibly satisfying, especially when the music is something you’re really proud of.
Kate Mirabella: I love mixing up the Connecticut music scene. There are a lot of genres reflected in the state, but I never felt like my music style was accurately reflected. I have extremely eclectic taste, and I’ve been to so many shows I can’t even count. I’ve been the girl moshing at a heavy metal concert, and the girl crowd-surfing up onto the stage. However, the shows that I hold closest to my heart are the quiet, lyric-driven artists who captivate the audience. While I had a blast at A Day to Remember and Blink-182 shows, Julien Baker, or City and Colour performances are life-changing for me. So, I love trying to change the minds of Connecticut concertgoers. There’s something so powerful about hearing the bar suddenly get quiet when we go into “Seven” and feeling their attentiveness to the lyrics.
Rockmommy: How are you making music during quarantine? Are you able to meet up and social distance, or using outlets like Zoom to jam?
Anthony Paolucci: All of this happened literally a week after we released our new album. Before that, we had mostly written our next album and had planned to work on that in between shows supporting the current album. So I’ve been sitting on my pad set at home, every night, with my headphones on, and playing along to both our albums, and band rehearsal recordings of our next album.
Kate Mirabella: Since we can’t really get together, I’ve been doing “Quarantine Covers” as often as I can on Instagram. It’s helped me stay distracted, connect with musicians with similar music taste, and actually sit down and learn other people’s songs, something I haven’t done in years since I started writing my own music.
Rockmommy: What’s the first thing you hope to do once some of the restrictions are lifted?
Anthony Paolucci: Get back to hammering out the next album, and playing shows to support the current album — wherever we can, and as often as we can.
Kate Mirabella: I would love to do a mini-tour. After this is over, I’ll want to support local venues, travel and FINALLY play together. I think some road-tripping around New England would allow us to do all of that at once.
Local Band Releases Album
By Milford Mirror on August 24, 2018
Kate Mirabella, a local musician, says she is the descendant of a monster: Cotton Mather.
Born Feb. 12, 1663 into a family of renown New England Puritan ministers, Cotton Mather would go on to become one of the region’s most notorious villains. His role in the Salem Witch Trials, considered to be one of the most horrific events in the nation’s history, led to the execution of 20 people in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693, all of whom were accused of practicing witchcraft.
Although Mather was not directly involved in the proceedings of the Salem Witch Trials, many scholars believe his fiery sermons about eternal damnation, and his book, “Remarkable Providences” (1684), which describes the supposed demonic possession of the children of the Goodwin family of Boston, led to the first cry of witchcraft among the young girls in Salem Village.
Upon learning of her ancestral connection to Mather, Mirabella was filled with both shame and remorse, the guilt of Mather’s misdeeds weighing heavily on her conscience. In honor of those who perished during that terrible period, Mirabella makes a yearly journey every fall to Salem and places flowers on the graves of each of the victims whose lives Mather had a hand in ending.
Her first trip after forming her band Passing Strange inspired her to write the song “Puritan Preacher,” which tells about her blood-relation to Mather and the impact it’s had on her life.
Like many artists, Mirabella uses her musical talents to exorcise the ghosts of her past and keep residential demons at bay. Writing “Puritan Preacher,” the first single from Passing Strange’s new album, Come Whatever Storms, was both a cathartic and creative endeavor for the young pianist/singer.
“I’ve always respected art that is honest,” said Mirabella. “I think people are most inspiring when they show you their vulnerability. So, in a lot of ways, this album is like reading my diary. Writing these songs has helped me find myself and leave these experiences behind me.”
Evidence of Mirabella’s newfound freedom can be seen on the album itself. The cover art depicts drummer and Milford resident Anthony Paolucci “leading her from the darkness and into the light.” The album name, taken from the Stephen King book series The Dark Tower, is a message of survival. And the back cover, a photograph taken by Anthony’s daughter Eden, depicts a garden statue of a young girl, meant to represent the stone-hard resilience of a female weathering adversity.
“This album is deeply personal, for both of us,” said Paolucci. “Our hope is that others will relate to these songs in a way that allows them to appreciate the music in a more meaningful way.”
Cafe Nine Cuts A Rug
by Brian Slattery | Nov 20, 2018
The southern Connecticut-based Passing Strange kicked off the evening with a set of originals penned by singer and keyboardist Kate Mirabella. As the band itself tells it, the project began at an open mic in April 2017 when drummer Anthony Paolucci heard Mirabella play. He suggested they try playing together at the next open mic, and they did. Numerous concerts and two albums later, Mirabella and Paolucci had a tight set to bring to Cafe Nine’s stage. Mirabella’s piano work covered bass parts, harmonic structure and countermelodies, while Paolucci’s drums gave the songs forward momentum and added texture, something unique for every song that also gave Mirabella a chance to unleash her voice. Song by song, Passing Strange reeled in the crowd, as applause grew for each passing song. Midway through the band’s set, a couple got up to dance and didn’t stop. They had serious moves, and the floor was theirs. A smile crossed Paolucci’s face as he saw them. Mirabella beamed.
“Thanks for dancing!” she said.
Cafe Nine Passes Strange, And Catapults Into Wonder
Leah Andelsmith | November 20th, 2018
Kate Mirabella put both hands below middle C and hammered out a bluesy bass line with the kind of low notes that go straight through the chest. Drummer Anthony Paolucci spun his drumsticks, came in on a fill, and settled into a beat that created a dark and broody groove. Within seconds, they were filling the room with the kind of song you play to vanquish an awful mood.
Monday, Mirabella and Paolucci’s band Passing Strange opened for Elizabeth & the Catapult and Julia Caesar at Cafe Nine, drawing an audience that grew to four dozen over the course of the night. Part of Cafe Nine’s Manic Monday series, Passing Strange set the stage for the New York City and Burlington acts with a tight, seven-song set that highlighted the band’s punchiest numbers.
“I’ve been trying to name bands Passing Strange for twenty years,” said Paolucci, explaining that the band’s name is a reference to a quote from Shakespeare’s Othello. After forming in April 2017, the local band has used earnings from shows in greater New Haven and Southern Connecticut to record two albums.
“Anthony was always a goth and I was always an emo chick,” Mirabella said. Paolucci has a hard-rock background, while she has typically been “very quiet.” Now, she is “hammering on the piano,” while Paolucci has left rock behind.
"I don’t know who I am anymore,” she said. “But I like it.”
When the band launched into “Pacific Northwest” during their set, the sound was brighter, but was no less full or intense than their opener “We’ve All Got a Justine.” Paolucci knows how to create a rolling rhythm that your body wants to rock to, while Mirabella, channeling her experience as a drummer, likes a piano part that turns over and over itself like waves. On Monday's stage, her voice was reminiscent of singer/songwriter Missy Higgins in the broad vowels, touches of breathiness, and the way she crisped her consonants.
“And if it’s so easy for you to walk out maybe that’s what you should do…But when the sky goes dark and the nightmares start, will you think of me?” she sang, her calm, unassuming presence belying the darkness of the song.
As Passing Strange started “Puritan Preacher,” a slightly dissonant chord pierced the air, and then that beat rolled in. Mirabella’s voice rang out, a bright, clear mid-range tone.
“This happens all the time,” she sang, an expression of regret crossing her face as she lifted her eyes to the audience to deliver the song of heartache.
Passing Strange closed their set with “The Violets Are Dead,” layering the song’s ending with tributes to a couple of their strongest influences: Tori Amos and the Doors. Mirabella started by playing a piano riff slow and high, a sad, looping melody in a minor key. Then she dropped it down three octaves and added a bass line that gave the music a mean streak.
“When the wolf came down, I swore I saw him smile,” she sang. The verse was sparse, but the chorus came crashing in with lots of open high hat from Paolucci.
“I have you hanging by a thread,” Mirabella sang on the bridge, lifting one shoulder. Her voice was dangerously soft, almost broken. Then she leaned into a piano instrumental with a driving, vampy piano lick in true Tori Amos style, letting it loop over and over before dropping back to that bare piano melody from the song’s intro. The drums teased their way back in until the band was playing full-out again, in their rocking, driving way.
Local Band Signs Record Deal
By Milford Mirror on July 29, 2019
Growing up, many kids dream about becoming rock stars. Local resident, Anthony Paolucci, is no exception. On July 17, that dream came one step closer to reality when his band, Passing Strange, signed a record deal with NeuroTronix Records, an independent label in Seymour.
After three years of playing shows around the state, recording music, and raising funds for organizations like Bridges Healthcare, Milford Prevention Council, and To Write Love on Her Arms, Passing Strange is moving up in their musical career.
“It’s the kind of thing every musician dreams of, one day signing with a record label,” said Paolucci, who plays drums in the band. “This is how all my heroes started out, and I’m hoping it’s the first big step on the road to great things.”
Pianist and vocalist Kate Mirabella said, “We’re hoping that by signing with NeuroTronix, this will open a lot of doors that might not otherwise be available to us. We’re excited to be working with Rick Demko; he believes in our music as much as we do. With his experience and expertise, we’ll be able to reach even more people.”
Passing Strange’s pre-label album, Come Whatever Storms, is on Spotify.
Milford-Based Band Devotes Full Attention to "Afterthought"
CT POST, September 19, 2021
MILFORD — For years, Milford native Anthony Paolucci worked in the same marketing office with Orange resident Kate Mirabella. But it was a chance conversation about an early 2000s emo band that convinced them they should be making music together.
Now, the pair are getting ready to release their third album, “Afterthought,” under the name Passing Strange.
“We didn’t talk to each other a lot at work, but one day My Chemical Romance was playing, we did the same drum beat, and we just turned to each other,” said Mirabella. “That’s what started discussions, and I found out he played the drums, and he found out I played the piano.”
Before that moment, the two had sat in a room next to each other for weeks without exchanging a word, Paolucci said.
Mirabella started singing, and Paolucci told her that she should go to an open mic and he would back her up on drums.
“We did an open mic, and we played, and something clicked, and I thought there was something here,” he said. “With my background and the stuff she was writing, I thought it was a cool mix.”
Mirabella agreed.
“It was pretty lucky that we just happened upon it,” she said.
When she sings covers, Mirabella said she tries to make them sound different, with her own style. She said Paolucci, backing her on drums, intuitively understood what she was doing. That’s when she realized their musical connection.
“The chemistry was definitely spot on and instant,” said Paolucci.
The new album, which they plan to release at a live performance Sept. 25 at the live music venue 10selden in Woodbridge, is their definitive recording, Paolucci said.
“The progress is interesting because if you listen to the first album, we wrote it and recorded it in a couple of months and a lot of it was us finding our sound. It was very jazzy and bluesy,” said Paolucci. “In our second one, you could start hearing more of an indie sound and getting away from the bluesy and jazzy stuff. Then this one was a culmination of all of that progress and evolution. And I think this third album defines us.”
Mirabella said the band, and the two musicians, have changed and developed over the course of writing and recording three albums.
“That first album I had my jet-black hair,” she said. “I had just gone through a breakup. I was angry, sad and you could hear it.”
The second album was her coming out of that phase, she said.
“(It was) like where are we now, which is more indie, which is what I listen to the most,” she said. “It felt more like me. This third one is a combination of both where I feel like it really defines us as a band.”
Mirabella and Paolucci both bring plenty of musical experience.
“I’ve been a huge music lover my whole life,” said Mirabella. “I’ve been playing the piano for 15 years, or something crazy, and before that, I was a drummer.”
Paolucci said he has 30 years’ experience playing drums in various rock and original bands.
The two have never thought they needed additional musicians in the band, he said.
“When you hear the albums, they sound very full, and it’s just piano, drums and vocals,” he said. “I think we’ve gotten the hang of that. When we figured all this out at the beginning, we knew all we needed was the piano and the drums.”
In 2018, the band placed third in the 2018 CTNOW Best of Hartford Reader’s Poll for best new band. Their song, “Pacific Northwest,” also placed third in the poll for favorite song. In the same year, they were nominated for the 2018 New England Music Award for new acts.
The two released their first album, “Come Whatever Storms,” in 2019, and signed with NeuroTronix Records the following year. Passing Strange’s second album, “The Water and the Woods,” was also released in 2020.
The duo describes their music as “laced in jazz, bedazzled in blues and brewed in a vat of indie rock.”
“Somebody else once told us that we sound like an emo Alicia Keys,” said Paolucci. “And I was like, that was cool.”
When they were naming their third album, Paolucci suggested Afterthought because that was a name he had always wanted for a band. Mirabella liked the name. But, for her, the name went a little deeper.
“I explained to him why it worked because this was the album I couldn’t make yet,” she said. “I couldn’t write these songs yet, and I didn’t have them in me yet. I had to get out the angry songs, the fun songs and everything that came before it. These songs took years, rather than a few days or weeks sometimes.”
In 2020, unable to perform live shows, the two worked on their third album.
“The songs I wrote during the quarantine were so hard to write that it sucked,” said Mirabella. “Usually I would crank them out, we practice them, and they were great. But the ones I wrote during quarantine, you kind of notice in the album, they are pretty dark.”
But since they had more time to work on their third album, they explored different avenues with their music and experimented with a few things.
“Like, we have a song that we added string and violins that we’ve never done,” Mirabella said.
“Having that amount of time, you do get to hear the song so many times that you’re like, you know what, a violin would sound good here,” said Paolucci.
Now that the third album is done, the duo is excited to perform it live.
“There is a bit of pressure because essentially our last show was our last album release, and it has been so long, we now have an entirely new one,” Mirabella said. “So it’s not an easy show to warm up with, but we are definitely excited.”
ct verses: gig of the week(end): passing strange’s album release show at 10selden with spanish red, tall trees, and the modifieds! (9/25)
Each week, we’ll plug one show that we excites us. (We think every show posted on our Gig Calendar is worth checking out, but we wanted to spotlight one in particular).
This week’s Gig of the Week(end) is: Passing Strange, Tall Trees, Spanish Red, and The Modifieds’ show on September 25th at 10selden in Woodbridge. The price is $12 if you didn’t buy an advanced ticket. The doors open at 6:30PM (the show will start promptly at 7PM). The venue is all ages, and alcohol is not permitted on the premises. (You can also buy snacks next door.)
What’s the hype? Passing Strange is one of our favorite sadcore bands, and they occupy a unique spot in the CT music scene. Kate and Anthony are a piano-and-drums duo (respectively) that craft perfectly melancholy pop music. Imagine a combination of Fiona Apple and Phoebe Bridgers, but that grew up listening to My Chemical Romance. They’ll be releasing their new album Afterthought tonight! And look, the album has only been up on streaming services for (checks watch) less than 24 hours, but it’s really excellent. You can read more about the band / Afterthought at this really interesting and in-depth article from CTPost. They’ll be joined by three other great CT bands, too. Tall Trees is a new favorite for us, as they debuted earlier this year with Mayday, whose title track gets stuck in our heads all the time. Spanish Red is the new project / name for Thomas Laydon, aka Good Behavior. And The Modifieds are perfect if you are craving some loose, scuzzy, acoustic indie. Be sure to keep your eye out at the merch table so that you can not only cop Passing Strange’s new album Afterthought but also the collected lyrics of the band bundled into a very cool chapbook titled "Words to Live By."
OK see you there!
Passing Strange Offer Mad Brilliance on Afterthought
By Bill Copeland on October 27, 2021
Passing Strange keep things interesting, very interesting on their new album Afterthought. With their palpable drum fills, eerie piano moods, and anxious lyrics, they conjure the vibe of one racing the antidote to a dying man who holds the ultimate secrets of mankind. The duo, in their wild creativity, are that good, creating moods, hooking the listener, and leaving fans with an adrenaline rush in each tune.
Opening with the soft, quiet and sublime “Ivory & Blue” Passing Strange show they can set a mood with their minimal approach of vocal, piano, and drums. Kate Mirabella packs more mood, tone, mystery and suspense in her voice than most singers can dream of. She doesn’t even need to belt because she packs a punch with timbre alone. Moreover, her solid, flinty piano notes can get as percussive as drummer Anthony Paolucci’s fills.
Moving into mid-tempo groove territory on “Old Log Town,” Paolucci puts a toe tapping beat beneath Mirabella’s whispery timbre. Her ever revolving piano melody invokes a feeling of circular motion. One can picture the two walking merrily down a sidewalk in a dark, weird Tim Burton movie. This piece manages to be joyful and eerie at once, and it is just strange enough to keep one following along.
“Ballroom Floor” finds this duo injecting more urgency into their music. Mirabella’s desperate lyrics keep the listener glued to this urgent drama while her piano notes seem to vibrate and shatter before the next few notes come into our consciousness. Meanwhile, Paolucci’s fills uphold and move her upper registers along with quick palpable succession.
“Evergreen” keeps things at mid-tempo darkness. Mirabella’s pushy low end piano notes kick this piece along a track from which escape might be impossible. Her vocal, sensitive yet evocative, conjure a feeling of someone along a nice walk in the woods just when it’s starting to get dark out. Aside from the natural dark beauty of her vocal timbre, Mirabella manages to keep things in motion using refinement. She only injects a small amount of vocal at a time. Each assertion, though, features a pretty sustain, a striking inflection.
“In The Summer When You’re Happy” finds piano and drum fixed in a tight groove. Both instruments employ that circular motion of notes, a technique that makes the listener feel an emotional holding pattern. The duo build suspense by suddenly playing their notes with deeper accents and a slight increase in dynamics. It is this sudden shift that leaves the listener wondering what the duo is going to do with us when this night time carriage ride arrives at its destination.
Mirabella employs darker piano notes on “Library Voice.” She also dips into a poppier technique, playing a catchy, fetching riff, numerous light notes over a few dark chords. Paolucci’s light touch drum fills provides enough note for note pep with the upper register notes, accompanying them while pushing them forward. This one keeps growing on the listener because of the snappy interval of notes Mirabella plays while she keeps a silky whisper in motion over the top of her ivories.
“Trailer Park” continues the use of catchy pop techniques, even if the lyrics are quite serious. Keeping things down tempo, the duo still injects heavy smacks of color and tone from their instruments. This is a song we can feel as much as we can hear. That is because Mirabella and Paolucci are sensitive to what a song needs and continuously hit notes that evoke emotion and conjure a scene.
Playing out like a slow funeral dirge, “Coming Up Roses” rides a solemn march toward an uncertain fate. Mirabella milks the forlorn vocal approach to deliver something that perfectly matches her minor key piano progression. As a mood piece, this one is perfect. There is enough quiet drama in the easy pace high notes and lower chords as well as the plethora of drum fills kicking it along. The darker chords and heftier smacks match perfectly, feeling like there are more than two players.
Uptempo, “Karen In The Daytime” kicks the doors open with assertive drumming and adventurous piano, something out of an action movie soundtrack. Gripping and suspenseful, Mirabella keeps her action packed vocal filled with tension, something that feels like it can’t wait to uncoil and spring even more aggressively. There is also lyrical intrigue:
“My favorite heels broke right in half on Lay Avenue/
You kicked me out at 3 A.M but what else is new/
I slapped you around and tried some shit that you weren’t into/
I’m sorry love, I just wanted to show you what I could do.”
“Beauty In The Fallout” manages to propel itself forward with only gently slap piano chords and a subtle back beat. There is a knobby quality to the instruments that put a bulbous groove into this piece. Mirabella’s quiet hush vocal contrasts well with her shiny spike piano notes while gliding like a cloud over it. This one works because of the instrument grist as it correlates to the smooth vocal above.
“Killing Spree” moves with a bounce in its step, piano and drums pumping a jaunty groove. It’s a coolness that they press out of their instruments as Mirabella sends her sassy attitude over the music in an even glide. She finds the right balance with the groove, moving over it in a way that never interferes with either.
Close out track “The Final Curtain” combines a dark piano melody with a marching drum patter. The listener feels drawn into the solemn proceedings by the irresistible primitive beat and the haunting voice above the piano. Mirabella injects a brief rhythmic interval underneath alternating verses, something that makes one feel they’ve been trapped in a circumstance beyond their control. As with the rest of these tracks, this is mad brilliance.
Mad brilliance is Passing Strange’ calling card. Every number on this album, Afterthought, like their previous album, jumps out as a winning combination of mood, inventiveness, and sheer talent. That Mirabella and Paolucci can do all they do with only piano and drums indicates a largeness of talent and a brilliance of creativity. It certainly helped to have Richard Demko produce and engineer this album at his Greenwood Studios in Seymour, Connecticut. Demko captured the shine off of each vocal, piano, and drum note to make this kind of duo possible.
Passing Strange - Afterthought - Album Review
By Ralph Beauchamp on November 10, 2021
With their new album release, Afterthought, Passing Strange have created a somber masterpiece full of absorbed soundscapes and introspective inflections. The Connecticut duo delve deep into their musical psyche to forge a record that is both singular in tone and a work of aural beauty. Passing Strange‘s music is dark and mysterious with an otherworldly feel. Their use of moody piano runs and pensive percussions is fearlessly exhilarating and positions them in a totally innovative symphonic space.
Passing Strange is comprised of Kate Mirabella (Vocals/Piano) and Anthony Paolucci (Drums). After meeting during an open mike night, Kate and Anthony formed the duo in 2017. Kate cites Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridges as some of her major influences. Whereas Anthony lists The Deftones and The Doors. Even though their tastes differ, their love of jazz, blues and indie rock solidified a unique bond. Passing Strange manipulates both their diversity and strengths to construct something peerlessly novel.
They dropped their first full length, Come Whatever Storms, in 2018 to rave reviews. The Water and the Woods followed in 2020. Afterthought transports Passing Strange into a fierce new arena where the extremely personal lyrics enhances the haunting vocals and esoteric arrangements. Their creativity easily captures the listener with their strong songwriting and imaginative genre-bending musical stylings.
The opening composition on Afterthought is the delicate and ethereal “Ivory & Blue”. As soon as you hear Mirabella’s elegant and pensive vocals accompanied by her melancholy piano you realize there is something special here. Her tonal accents and timbre are breathtaking. When Paolucci’s drum fills come into the mix, the songs takes on a new dynamic. More manic yet still fragile.
Throughout the record, Passing Strange append their spectral sound with lyrics that are deeply intimate and somewhat apprehensive. “Old Log Town” is a prime example. Mirabella’s voice carries a profound yearning for change and a new beginning. She appeals to her partner to join her.
so pack your things
we’re headed back to the coast
it doesn’t matter which one
any will get the job done at this point
pack your life
in the suitcase under my bed
you saw the other night
while we were drunk and laughing
we won’t be on that floor again
The piano refrains and percussions on “In The Summer When You’re Happy” coupled with the forlorn lyrical mood creates an amazing haze of sonic refinement. All the while, the track holds a tension filled ambiance. The upbeat “Karen In The Daytime” blends their jazz influences with pop sensibilities. Kate’s voice runs supreme. It’s impressive how many brazenly lush compositions Afterthought encompasses.
With Afterthought, Passing Strange have devised a textured work of extraordinary vision that manifests their talent and accomplished songwriting. They use their creativity to shape something totally remarkable and unrivaled. Again and again, Passing Strange infuse their imaginative music with tantalizing melodies and heartfelt choruses.
Passing Strange’s Anthony Paolucci on Raising a Piano Prodigy, Songwriting, and His Band’s New Baby — ‘Afterthought’
November 30, 2021
by Marisa Torrieri Bloom
Connecticut indie-rock duo Passing Strange’s latest record is called Afterthought, but the 12-song collection is anything but. The album, which came out in October, encompasses an expansive sonic realm — impressively executed by just one vocalist/keyboardist (Kate Mirabella) and one drummer (Anthony Paolucci) — and feels wilder and more playful at times than The Water and The Woods, the band’s early pandemic full-length, though equally emotive.
On Afterthought (NeuroTronix Records), every song — from the low-key, intimate “Library Voice” and the punchy “Killing Spree” to the jazzy/upbeat “Ballroom Floor” — is thoughtfully crafted, the byproduct of two percussively minded songwriters who are as in tune with each other as a pair of longtime best friends.
It’s clear that in late 2021, Mirabella and Paolucci have become more comfortable as songwriters and performers, having played together since 2017. As a result, their ability to craft clever, imaginative lyrics that resonate with each song’s musical mood is evident in every verse, hook, and live show.
The album’s cheeky first single, “Karen In The Daytime” — which I originally assumed was a nod to the phenomenon of Karens in our post-2020 society — is actually a clever ode to the show ‘Californication,’ with Mirabella’s breathy voice soaring atop a cool, breezy melody. And I love the way she belts out, ‘I Wish I could be your Karen in the daytime’ with equal parts angsty conviction and joy.
And while I’ve enjoyed every track I’ve heard from Afterthought, my favorite is the stunning “Ivory & Blue.” When I heard this delightfully melancholy song for the first time, it totally captivated me. The chord changes and vocal turns are so beautifully unexpected, carrying a fantastical storyline, that I just had to keep listening.
For hours, I wracked my brain trying to come up with the right analogy to describe the way the song impacted me, and the best I can offer is this: It’s like going to a party and expecting plain, but pleasant, vanilla-frosted cake, and then being presented with tiramisu encrusted in sparkling, 14-karat gold.
And the surprises keep on coming: Just when I thought the “Ivory & Blue” had mellowed into a comfortable cadence, Paolucci’s drums make their entrance, ecstatically driving the song to toward its final destination.
Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when Paolucci told me that he was a dad to a gifted, 17-year-old piano-playing daughter! Clearly, the good music genes run in the family. We recently caught up with him to talk more about fatherhood, the record, and what’s next for 2022.
Rockmommy: How is your latest record, Afterthought, different from 2020’s The Water and the Woods?
Anthony Paolucci: It’s a little-known fact that The Water and the Woods is technically our FIRST album. The first version was hastily written and recorded in two months, back in 2017. We wrote the songs, believed they were ready, and recorded them when we were offered a chance to do so by a personal friend with a studio. How wrong we were. The songs were given no time to mature and develop over time from playing them live, and we were eventually disappointed in our decision to record them when we did.
Our next batch of songs became “Come Whatever Storms,” which we wrote and recorded a year after writing them and playing them live. After that, we began writing songs for what would be our third album.
However, in 2019, we were signed to NeuroTronix Records, and we hadn’t finished writing the new album yet. So Rick [Demko] decided to re-record The Water and the Woods, an opportunity we leaped at. After its official re-release, the country went into lockdown and other than our album release show, we never had a chance to promote it live anywhere. So we went back to working on the third album.
Half the album was already written, but the rest of it was written in quarantine — and, in our opinion, it shows. The nature and tone of these songs is deeply personal and very intimate. Whereas many of the songs on the other two albums are fictional stories, most of the ones on Afterthought are about us and a lot of our life experiences. So when all is said and done, this third album technically took three years to write before we recorded it. In the meantime, the songs that were finished we played live many times. So as far as we’re concerned, it’s our best and proudest effort so far.
Rockmommy: How did you approach each track?
Anthony Paolucci: Each track was approached the same way we always write. Kate comes up with an idea or a series of parts and plays them for me. I “find the beat” in the song, and we ride out the groove, following the song wherever it takes us. Sometimes, in the end, it doesn’t sound anything like Kate originally intended, but it becomes a Passing Strange song, a creation that’s truly equal parts her and I.
Since half the album was recorded in quarantine, however, many of these songs were quite finished when they finally came to me, and I didn’t want to deviate from their original arrangement or sound. My job was to add to their depth and give them a percussive layer, without taking anything away from the original idea: One example is “Coming Up Roses.”
In the case of “Karen In The Daytime”, given the soft or subdued nature of many of our songs, I asked Kate to write a song, just for me, that I can rock out to on my drums. It took a while, but I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result, and I felt that I really got to flex my drumming arms on that one.
Rockmommy: What is the story behind the song ‘Karen In The Daytime’?
Anthony Paolucci: This song was inspired by the show Californication and is written from the perspective of the character Mia — a young, unstable, extorting, mistress as she realizes she’ll never live up to the main character’s ex-wife Karen. Instead, she is stuck seeing him at night when he can get away, while Karen gets him in the daytime.
Rockmommy: What are your goals for 2022?
Anthony Paolucci: With three albums under our belt, our main goal at this point is to just play out. We’re finally crossing the border and playing a different state for the first time next year, but we’d like to play as many new places with as many new bands and artists as possible. So if you’re reading this, and you like what you hear, reach out to us! We want to share a stage with you.
Rockmommy: What are yours and Kate’s favorite tracks on the album (at the moment)?
Anthony Paolucci: The first song completed for this album was “Library Voice,” and we both feel exactly the same way, in that this song best represents the essence of this album, and for that reason, is probably both our favorite song.
Rockmommy: How has your love of music rubbed off on your progeny?
Anthony Paolucci: Before I had Eden, it was already decided that music would be a big part of her life. A part of her education, if you will, the importance of which would be as stressed as English or Math, whether she learned music at school or an outside teacher. When she was a toddler, we made certain she had musical toys, and there was always music playing somewhere in the apartment: classical, blues, music with substance.
Eden never showed any interest in drums, but she liked the piano in the living room. When she was given an electric keyboard at five years old, she was already figuring out melodies from movies like “Spirited Away” and “Castle in the Sky.” At 6 years old, she took lessons from Pat Neznick, who used to play in the New Haven Symphony. Eden excelled quickly and she soon became a member of the piano guild — National level.
What’s cool is she also has perfect pitch, so she can pretty much tell you the key of any sound — a duck’s quack, a leaf blower, it doesn’t matter.
As far as where her and I connect musically, we had very similar taste in music for a while. We saw KISS together, H.I.M., Lindsay Sterling, and yes, the Wiggles. Her first concert was Yanni, and nowadays she mostly listens to the classic crooners, like Tony and Frank, and hip-hop.
I ambush her playing sessions sometimes with a cajon and force her to play with me, but I know she hates it, so I’ve backed off for the most part. I told her you’ll never grow as a musician unless you play with other people, but she doesn’t want to hear it. Ah, well. I’m just happy that she still loves the piano and plays it every day. I even wrote a Young Adult novel about her and the piano called “Piano Lessons,” so she’s as much an inspiration to me artistically as I’d like to think I’ve been to her.