Grimes – Art Angels (4AD, 2015)
Since her 2012 album Visions, Grimes has kept a relatively low profile, leaving fans waiting for new material with bated breath. For her fourth studio album, the Canadian artist brings her signature brand of sugary-sweet synth pop to the forefront with Art Angels. “Laughing and Not Being Normal” opens the album with an eerily cheery and theatrical track that borders on an old European opera, while “Flesh Without Blood” and the title track provide jittery layered and sunny synth-heavy sounds. Other tracks like “Life In The Vivid Dream” sound like a melancholic ‘80s-inspired ballad. Though the album doesn’t feature any instant classics like “Oblivion,” her star-making single from Visions, Art Angels still features 14 sonically varied tracks that will be showcased in full splendour at her sold out show at Metropolis at the end of the month.
Trial Track: “Flesh Without Blood”
7/10
