Duolant - Corrivate

 

Released: June 16

A recent addition to the Waxing Crescent lineup, Corrivate is a masterful blend of lo-fi electronic electronics with bits of indie rock sprinkled throughout the album. Some tracks lean heavily in either direction along with softly sung vocals defining some and abstract synth parts fully leading others. Regardless, from the very first track "All The Ways," we are given a glimpse into what the rest of the album has in store for us and it proves to be something that doesn't fit into any pre-defined molds easily. 

As the first track opens up, we are introduced with a synth splash and soft vocoded lyrics that soon give way to guitar and vocals  with an aesthetic that reminds me of the earliest days of acoustic emo rock, minus the saccharine young love romanticism and self-indulgent lyrics. Instead, we have a more grown-up lyrical motif that is heartfelt but without being overemotional. The next couple of tracks forego any lyrics or guitars and instead take us through minimalist soundscapes punctuated by by gentle percussive textures and odd synth trills, notably on "Many, Most" with a persistent rhythm of sorts and the rising and falling of abstract synths. This theme continues on with Duolant bringing his soft and breathy vocals back in "Dimly" only to make them absent again until "A.M. Horizons" and finally closing us out on a purely synth track "Of Certain Self." The dynamics of this album are well crafted and bring in a variety of somewhat unexpected influences to create something quite novel.