Another dream pop highlight of 2012, Grimes’ (aka Claire
Boucher) Visions manages to bring ambience and synth rock together in a
captivating blend which does hold the listener’s focus from start to finish. In
many ways similar to another dream pop album released this year, Beach House’s
Bloom (reviewed 22/12/12), Visions is more complete, shows off greater variety
and ends up being much more enjoyable.
The baby vocals that welcome listeners to the album’s opener,
Infinite Love without Fulfilment, represent the high end of Boucher’s extensive
range, while the dreamy charm of the record completes the dense harmony. Two of
the most well known tracks, Genesis and Oblivion, display the album’s
infectious mix of elaborate rhythms and synth saturation, strung together by
haunting vocals like a red ribbon. The mood of each track seems to depend on
the percussion; Circumambience is dictated by a raw, crunching beat which carries
the dance theme, while a chorus of handclaps and synths immerse the listener in
Visiting Statue.
Traces of Björk’s late 90s period can be detected in Be a
Body, whose layered vocals from a wall along a vast pitch spectrum. It really
soaks the listener’s ears like fresh surf, a feeling that sticks across the
album’s 50 minutes. However, Grimes’ ability to mix up the sounds to project a
range of moods is the record’s trump card. There is enough variety here to keep
the listener hooked, despite the dream pop theme. At the end there is enough
there to warrant repeat listens, with subtlety and intelligence in the rhythms
to stick in the mind.
A highlight of 2012 for sure, Grimes probably deserves
greater recognition than that received to date. However, the quality is here to
draw a crowd.
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