THIS CANADIAN DUO is yet another iteration of the boy/girl (boy equals producer, girl equals singer) clichรฉ, but donโt let that turn you off. Their appropriation of the โ80s dreamscapes of fellow 4AD label-mates the Cocteau Twins is subtle, and just right, but itโs that slightly otherworldly quality, when combined with contemporary hip-hop and teen pop techniques and then twisted around by lyrics that ooze with bodily fluids, that turns it into something special.
Megan James has the kind of high, cute voice that will polarise opinion, and isnโt averse to a bit of autotuning should the song require it. Corin Roddick, on the other hand, is a one-man synth-pop orchestra, churning out twinkly star-clusters one moment and faux-dubstep modulations the next.
Very occasionally, theyโre a smeared mirror held up to our own the Naked & Famous, and most of the time on Shrines, theyโre worth sinking your senses in. GARY STEEL
Sound = 3.5/5
Music = 3.5/5
PURITY RING – SHRINES (4AD/Rhythmethod) CD REVIEW
Latest from Music
Who you jiving with that cosmic debris? Zappa’s Apostrophe (โ) at 50
Frank Zappaโs most popular album gets a chunky six-disc elaboration. GARY STEEL wonders whether it warrants the attention.
World’s Worst Records – Alison Gold’s Chinese Food
Our expert on the worst of the worst, the honourable MATT KELLY, gets stuck into a very dubious release that verges on culturally insensitive.
Moon Unit Zappaโs memoir: a ripping rock and roll read
The original valley girlโs memoir is an acutely observed and at times shocking tell-all about growing up in the dysfunctional family of a 1970s
World’s Worst Records – Dizzee Rascal’s The Fifth
Dizzee Rascal has made some acclaimed albums but The Fifth isn't one of them, writes MATT KELLY, who rues just how low the rapper
Shriekback: Making the brain dance
Way back in 1986 GARY STEEL chatted with Shriekback main man Barry Andrews prior to the groupโs NZ tour. Here's that interview.