Singer

Almost forgot about this one, a review of the new Singer album, Mindreading, out now on Drag City. The review ran last week at Blurt when I wasn't paying attention...
07/27/2011
Singer

Mindreading

(Drag City)



www.dragcity.com



Three mainstays of Chicago's avant-garde offer another round of lavishly vocalized, synthetically orchestrated almost-pop. Mindreading is considerably more lush and accessible than 2008's Unhistories, though not exactly easy listening. Here listeners slip down silky bolt-holes, sleek bits of melody slipping through fingers as they seek some sort of grip on Singer's intricacies.

Singer is down to three members, drone-ambient/noise artist Robert A.A. Lowe, and Adam and Ben Vida. Todd Rittman (ex of US Maple), who contributed to Unhistories, has exited to pursue his D. Rider project, taking with him, perhaps, the noisier, more unsettling elements of Singer's sound. The remaining three musicians muster a variety of synths, guitars, percussion and voices - the name is Singer, after all - to create cerebral, faintly sensual landscapes that borrow from classic soul, prog, drone and pop.

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