Sore Eros, brainchild of Robert Robinson, is the one-man palindrome offering a new LP on the small but uncompromising SHDWPLY Records. He tosses his hat into the newly-crowded realm of insular bedroom rock with Second Chants, an ambitious release that tactfully mixes sober tinkering with rushes of buoyant space waltz maneuvers to arrive at sweet, sweet catharsis.
Robinson was an occasional player in Ariel Pink’s band, and sometimes you can hear the Paw Tracks influence through the phasing and tape warps, but Second Chants is much more concerned with perfecting tone color than burying pop gems under lo-fi contortions. He also favorably resists the swinging-for-the-fence mentality that weighs down a lot of bedroom albums, choosing a more cordial approach that allows his layers to breath. Even in songs that feature a full ensemble of guitar, accordion, synth, or various percussion and gamelans, they are always content to play cameos, rather than lead roles.
“Over and Over,” is an off-beat trip down twisting hallways lined with Sung Tongs-ian vocal melodies and bright angular strumming. The way everything suddenly opens up at the end, parting the fog of reverb and tremolo, is a sublime, albeit brief peek over the edge, and “Dream Self,” is a rapt column of air that gives us the rushing sensation of the free fall.
For fans of Atlas Sound, Our Sleepless Forest, and Silje Nes. Take a shot at sonic redemption with Second Chants, available on SHDWPLY Records now.
MP3 :::
Sore Eros – Over and Over
Sore Eros – The Dream Self
