Friday, March 28, 2014

Scraps - Electric Ocean

Recording and performing as Scraps, Brisbane's Laura Hill delivers synth-pop tapestries that are in turns playful,warm,  moody, spacey, and dense.  Some of the strands pleasantly echo her synth pop forebears (recycled scraps, perhaps?), but to my ears all of the songs on her new album for Fire Records, Electric Ocean, are sincere and individualistic.  The vocals are subdued, but I suspect that such is a conscious choice in the context of the music rather than a lack of confidence in her vocals.  My overall impression is that this artist continually pushes herself to shape her music.  And I have great respect for an artist that simultaneously manages the intimacy of bedroom pop and the grander flourishes needed to thrill live audiences.

To give you a sense of the breadth of expression on the album I've included the dreamy "Asleep" and the more aggressive "Projections".  Electric Ocean is out now via Fire Records.





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