CD
A**S
New and different but somehow familiar
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's music is outstandingly beautiful and utterly unlike anything else that is being made. For my money, this is her best album so far. Developments include increased complexity and lushness and a confidence to the (heavily distorted and for the most part incomprehensible) vocals. The music in general seems more stylistically cohesive than her previous stuff - not that her previous stuff, or her more ambient collaboration with Suzanne Ciani, isn't also excellent. This album, throughout, makes me think of an outstanding example from some genre that I've never heard before, but there is no genre, it's just her. Maybe there is more of this stuff on some other planet or plane of existence, or maybe it's the music that trees and moss would make if they could make music. I don't know what to call it. Organic electronica? It's wonderful.My personal favorite track is Existence in the Unfurling but really the whole thing is so so good.
P**D
Five Stars
I love how this innovatively weaves nature and electronics. Spectacular!
M**E
A nicely detailed, electronic album with an interesting sonic topography.
A strong intellectual listening experience that is richly textured and highly accessible. If you like some of the heavy hitters of 70s exploratory electronic music like Ash Ra Temple, Cluster and Vangelis, you might enjoy this. But other touchstones for me might include something like Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" or the Resident's "Eskimo." I can also see people who have enjoyed groups like Matmos, Boards of Canada or the more recent Onehotrix Point Never finding rewards here. There's actually quite a lot of hooks, nice, clear chant-like vocals and cohesive journeying thru the album. It's definitely constructed as a full album listening experience and not just a group of tracks that hang well together. It's a well-conceived as a total.To give a little jolly: My brother, (who has much more mainstream and different taste in music than I do) entered my car while the song Anthropod was playing. After a minute or so, he said, "What IS this? I like it. It sounds like a carnival underwater with Enya."So there you go.
L**D
Simply Magnificent
Listened to KAS's Ears afew nights ago. Simply magnificent. Just ordered it on vinyl.
L**R
Five Stars
Kaitlyn has rendered a soundscape that has left me speechless, an auditory extravaganza on the senses.
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago