Shrines

Purity Ring | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: July 23, 2012
• Label: 4AD
• Copyright: 2012 4AD Ltd
• Total Length: 38:15
• Genres:
  • Dance & DJ
• ASIN: B008L2M5GQ
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)
  • #35 in MP3 Downloads > MP3 Albums > Dance & DJ

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Consistency August 15, 2012

By Jason Harrington

Format:MP3 Music

Not sure why my first review never got published...anyway, moving on...

If this album was released a few decades back, it would have been labeled "trip hop" and asked to open for Sneaker Pimps, Portishead, or Tricky. Although they would still make a great touring mate or featured vocal guest for those acts, so much has happened in music since then for Purity Ring to get inspired by, and yet their music harkens back to the creepy side of female new wave as well.

However, this is not an album designed to show range; Rather it's one built on a singular vision. It's not like Team Sleep either, where it's consistency is drawn from circling (or impersonating) a vague sub-genre. By comparison, Purity Ring make Team Sleep look like they are fishing for distinction. This is pure modern synth pop, but not the kind that is chasing behind a bandwagon.

The beats are a consistent blend of skittering trap music snares, wafting "witch house" atmospheres, and percussive bell tones that are distinct to this band (thanks to a custom MIDI sound/light controller they designed). Despite these comparisons, in no way do they bow to these trends, but at most maybe tip their hat to them.

The vocals have a ghost-like quality sort of like Grimes in that there is something cute (Pretty Girls Make Graves?) and angelic about them, but at the same time creepy and ghost-like (Portishead). This ghostly effect is really enhanced by the reoccurring anatomy theme in the lyrics. It's not just anatomy in a passive sense either, but each song seems to choose one body part (ribs, stomach, etc) and describe it in a manner as if it had a life of it's own and was advancing on the listener/antagonist or otherwise behaving unnaturally. Despite the fact that they seem to show even less range than Grimes, the voice and the drums take similar style hallmarks in a deeper, richer, and more engrossing direction. Grimes and Purity Ring both use vocal effects, but Grimes seems to rely mainly on reverb variations, natural voice modifications, and resampling, while Purity Ring is more into glitching, stuttering and placing the vocals upfront. The reverb soaking is more reserved for the melodic parts of the beats.

Grimes is more well known, so many people may find her first, then branch out to Purity Ring, but if you are ready to take this female fronted modern drum machine music to the next intensity level, try Light Asylum...they add a sharp dose of Annie Lennox and Grace Jones influence to this equation.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic July 25, 2012

By Taylor C. White

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Very airy, soothing, and sometimes slightly disturbing synth pop... It's extremely refreshing and new-feeling music. Unique lyrics backed by a hip-hop beat. Purity Ring was magic at first listen. Given their unique, future-pop style, I think it safe to say that they're not for everyone. But I beg you - give a few of their songs a listen, you may be very pleased that you chose to. My suggestions: Ungirthed, Crawlersout, Lofticries.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be so much better September 25, 2012

By J. Chaisson

Format:MP3 Music

I really wanted to like this album...the trip-hop atmosphere and the quirky lyrics are all great, and musically I think they're great. But I physically cannot listen to the entire album--the dubstep trickery of that reverse fade (the bWAH-bw-bWAH-bw-bw-bWAH bass lines you hear--well, you know what I mean) is so prevalent and up front in every single song that it bothers my ears. It's not often that music can do that to me, and I'm not saying the album's crap...which it's definitely not. It's just that they used the reverse fade SO MUCH in this album that it physically bothers me.