Purity Ring - Shrines


I think this might be my 100th review of a North-American indie-pop duo. Hmm.

Edmonton pair Corin Roddick and Megan James form Purity Ring, a now Montreal-based act signed to the virtually ubiquitous "cool" label 4AD (pronounced forward, as in 4 ad, not 4 A.D.) whose current clients include Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, the National, Deerhunter and St. Vincent. About to embark on a rather lengthy UK tour with their custom-made tree-shaped instruments (!) they've already garnered a fair bit of attention for their debut which, according to the Guardian, "repays exploration".


The idea of shrill, piercing synths mired amongst dark, moody beats isn't exactly the most groundbreaking of 2012, but one that sees 'Crawlersout' put out the pair's mission statement pretty assuredly. James' vocals are tampered with and sampled throughout for jagged echoes and stuttering effects that keep you on your toes, whilst Roddick's track bubbles with interesting sounds. Gentler and cooler is 'Fineshrine', where James gets a little biologically intimate ("Get a little closer, let it fold/ cut open my sternum and pull/ my little ribs around you") - it's cutely sung, and naturally eargrabbing. A clear Grimes comparison can be made with the eerie vocal effects on 'Ungirthed', blended seamlessly into her otherwise childlike, sweet sound - and it's a juxtaposition exploited further by hesitant, jittery synths. Their most fluent and straightforward pop track comes in 'Amenamy', a tune triumphant in its euphoric elements and almost black-magic in its lyrics ("and freer and broil and toil and foil...").

They return to the shadows then, however, with 'Grandloves', featuring vocals sampled from international electronic collective Young Magic's track You With Air. A little reluctant on the pace, it does lag at times but keeps attention with the samples. Rattles and subtle beats give 'Cartographist' an almost a capella quality, and again threatens to let your mind drift off elsewhere. 'Belispeak' thankfully injects some edge into the pair, with stronger beats and drum machines. James, too, finds some more sinister material ("drill little holes into my eyelids/ so that I might see you when I sleep"), and it's just a strong return to the nightmare-pop after a little spell of daydreaming. Another of the album's strongest hooks is on 'Saltkin', where James sings of bodies returning to "a bright bound sea... in fury".

Having just finished catching up with Game of Thrones there's a little fresh chill about the opening gambit to 'Obedear': "I came down over the sleeping mountains/ where our white tones plunged into the weeping shelter". Maybe it's just music for active imaginations. 'Lofticries' (I don't know where these titles are plucked from either) sacrifices a little intrigue for a chirpier melody, before the brief, hymnal 'Shuck' sees us out with vows to "hide in you", a vaguely romantic and spiritual assertion that rather accurately captures their sound.



It's icy, it's cold, it's atmospheric, it's dark and it's intriguing. Listen to it. Think of it as the musical The Killing... the Danish version that is. I have no time for the American version.

Rating: 8.5/10
Highlights: Amenamy, Ungirthed, Obedear, Fineshrine, Belispeak
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: Their grasp on human biology leaves much to be desired.
For fans of: Grimes, The Knife
Up next: Conor Maynard   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues, a review

Image
In 2008 the Fleet Foxes launched onto the music scene with their eponymous debut, landing themselves #1 positions in end-of-year reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Times and Mojo. Their unique brand of baroque-fused folk struck a chord with many, and the time has now come for them to follow that success up. In May they will release 'Helplessness Blues', the title track for which they recently released as a free download. The opening track 'Montezuma' is a slow repeat of their signature sound - the version I have unfortunately riddled with a few technical glitches - a minimalist and pensive reflection on life and impending death. In dirth or in excess /Both the slave and the empress/ Will return to the dirt I guess/ Naked as when they came. There's a slight rockabilly tune to 'Bedouin Dress', a slight threat to Robin's claim that the record will be "less poppy, less upbeat and more groove-based". The groove is certainly here, a Garfunkelia
Read more

Lady GaGa - ARTPOP

Image
Ah, the Lady GaGa album cycle. It's rivalled only by the surfacing of a celebrity's nudes in the "what gets the gays riled up" stakes, and is subject to a hideous level of hyperbole, high expectations and Germanotta's own unmistakeable hubris. This time around she's stretched as far as vowing to be the actual first popstar to perform in space (many have claimed they will, but apparently she actually will), has made a typically overstated cameo in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills , and gone down the gimmicky app route that Bjork and Jay Z did to varying results (Bjork's was innovative and interesting, Jay's was done for a deal with Samsung, go figure). GaGa herself has clumsily tread between the two: her own app appeared to be free, as she probably intended, but now something's popped up, most likely thanks to the label, with O2 that charges consumers £1 a week to listen to it a week earlier than its release date. This careless slipping be
Read more

Icona Pop - Icona Pop

Image
Although usually condusive of a bemused shrug (honestly, I swear some of their featured musicians are made up), the 'Best New Track' feature of Pitchfork occasionally throws up something surprising and instantly loveable: I Don't Care by Icona Pop was just one of them. So when this was also recommended by Popjustice, and given my desperate attempts to immerse myself in pop music and simultaneously be cool, I hopped aboard the bandwagon with gusto. And you know what? I love it. That phenomenal single aside, Sweden's newest pop sensations have, off the back of their international (modest) success, find themselves yet to take over the UK or States. Let's hope, then, that they're not doomed to an embarrassing record label drop and future solo efforts on the X Factor (in the same vein as Mini Viva , who had equally brilliant but tragically-ignored singles) or a series of delayed release dates of album #2 ( VV Brown ). The album, however, seeks to buck the
Read more