Kick Majestic

One of the great charms of Matt Sage’s musical output is that he has a real gift for seeking out, exposing and transforming his personal frustrations into song. On “Properties,” part of this new release from Sage project Kick Majestic, it feels like he is defiantly crying out for respite from an essentially unnamed tormentor but not waiting around for a reply before addressing the situation with sheets of sound and music. The songs on Deepest Reaches are a lo-fi sonic exorcism worthy of Lou Barlow in the early days of Sebadoh, if he’d somehow tried to write his own version of Zen Arcade. At times they dip into pure chaos, but Sage and percussionist Erik Wangsvick pull that train wreck back on track. Moody, visceral and cathartic throughout.