King Tootin’An Honkin by Cigarettes & Clip Art

Is this what happens when people from Cleveland make experimental music? A three-track ensemble suite with complexly layered harmonic parts played almost entirely by the saxophone sound on a keyboard? I’m unsurprised yet entirely fascinated. King Tootin’An Honkin by Cigarettes & Clip Art features intricate harmonies joined in intriguing counterpoint accompanied by a low tumbling bassline that’s able to keep up with the triumphant brassy melody. This piece is disparate and endlessly interesting, finding new things in its recognizable patterns listen after listen. You’re immersed in its beauty before being shaken out of your reverie at the thought that you’re practically meditating to this goofy music that’s honked its way into your brain.

Here at Outside Noise, we tend to gravitate toward the serious, earnest, and poetic but the importance of silliness in the creative process cannot be overstated. Holding space for humor while also showcasing unmistakable talent is a skill that can greatly expand a project’s impact; It’s camp, or something. Cigarettes & Clip Art has delivered charming, complex, and effective argle-bargle with King Tootin’An Honkin.