Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
German electro-pop-wave band Phosphenes will drop a new 11-track album May 25 entitled Find Us Where We’re Hiding. The band consists of Julee Bee (vocals, lyrics) and Harry Starbuck (composer, producer) with Florian Walther helping out on guitar.
Phosphenes grew out of an interview Bee did for a music magazine. A freelance journalist at the time, she was asked to interview Starbuck. During the interview, the two realized they had similar musical palates.
Phosphenes’ sound appeals for two reasons: the haunting, dream-like surfaces of harmonic patterns, and the gossamer texture of Bee’s marvelous voice which lifts and hovers with polished elegance.
Two of the album’s best songs are “Boy In The Hood,” a bravura wavering electro-pop number that drifts, emerges, and ascends on burnished filaments of colors, and “Girls Trip,” which rides a potently scintillating coalescence of electro-pop and indie rock somewhat reminiscent of The Cranberries, sparkling and tantalizing at the same time.
“Heaven Looks Alright” flutters with wispy sonic hues, as Bee’s stunning voice, tender and elusive, courses above with austere devotional flavors. “Breathe” travels on shimmering tendrils with dark, creamy textures balanced atop crisp percussive claps. This is a gorgeous song rife with subtle nuances.
“Orange Vox” features a dreamy, new-wave sensibility and carries vague traces of Joni Mitchell-like delicacy. This might be my favorite tune on the album because of its velvety luster. “One Trick Pony” emanates waves of rich undulating energy, as well as a pulsing rhythmic component.
Find Us Where We’re Hiding is a beautiful sonic concoction. A coruscating, palpable flow of ethereal colors and flavors rises with slo-mo intensity, streaming and whirling into pressurized sound that’s irresistibly seductive. The sheer splendor of the album is excellent.
Follow Phosphenes on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.
