NPR First Listen Premieres 'Black Terry Cat' By Xenia Rubinos
NPR’s First Listen is premiering the brand new album Black Terry Cat by Xenia Rubinos, whose sound Spin recently described as “multi-genre-hyphenate instrumental textures beneath Billie Holiday-esque croons.”
On her latest record, Rubinos uses her powerful and soulful voice to traverse an array of genres from R&B to Hip-Hop to jazz and beyond, all of it delivered with a New York punk-funk abandon. Early reviews only confirm the extraordinary qualities of Rubinos’ latest.
The new record finds Rubinos assisted by longtime drummer Marco Buccelli, who produced the album, and Jeremy Loucas as engineer. The three worked an average of 16-17 hours a day for five months to complete the disc which is named after “a giant black scraggly cat” that surprised Rubinos one cold night in Brooklyn.
Listen to Black Terry Cat by Xenia Rubinos care of NPR First Listen: http://www.npr.org/2016/05/19/478676629/first-listen-xenia-rubinos-black-terry-cat
Early Acclaim For Xenia Rubinos
"The Brooklyn siren's badass nature comes through on cuts like the attitude-packed "Right," and "I Won't Say," where she alternates between snappy rhymes and smooth singing. Other songs like "Mexican Chef," "Laugh Clown,' and "How Strange It Is" prove Rubinos really has no use for sonic labels. She is clearly in a class by herself, and if you haven't learned that after one spin of Black Terry Cat, then perhaps you should rewind.” - Bust
"Once Xenia Rubinos begins to sing, nothing else matters.” - DIY Magazine
“A vivid constellation of sounds and soul-searching.” – FACT Mag
“Xenia Rubinos is a fearless musician whose upbeat and shapeshifting sound continues to push boundaries” – Remezcla.com
" Xenia Rubinos, she is Cuban and Puerto Rican and she mixes that with this really deep groove, a very expressive voice that seems to change shape depending on the circumstances of the song. But also she works with a lot of odd time signatures, some quirky melodies. Her voice gets even more pliable. She successfully combines all of that stuff in this great new album called Black Terry Cat. - NPR Weekend Edition
"It’s a gorgeous piece of music, and it pulls off the rare trick of seeming warm and familiar yet very distinctive and unusual.” - Fluxblog
"neo-soul vocals that feel both a bit kooky and a bit sexy, flexing her storytelling chops along with her infectious vocal stylings. More, please.” - Flavorwire
Live Dates
05-27 Mothlight Asheville, NC
05-28 Strange Matter, Richmond VA
06-04 Baby's All Right Brooklyn NY
06-15 Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia PA
06-24 Logan Sqaure, Chicago IL