While many alternative bands producing music today add an element of synth-pop to their music, Purity Ring encapsulates what the genre can showcase when utilized as the main backdrop. Purity Ring’s music style experiments with distorted vocals and electric-dipped percussive loops to build an ethereal experience. As their third studio album, WOMB tightens down and refines what fans can expect from their music. Purity Ring’s latest work is beautifully built through a soft touch that can be played ad nauseam, with new layers to be discovered as listeners become more acquainted with the band’s style.
Purity Ring’s brand is atmospheric, and they experiment within the mold they have established for themselves. The differences between their previous albums are subtle. Their debut album Shrines has the most pop elements with an upbeat pace and cheerful chime running through the album. Their follow-up album another eternity capitalized on the synth-centric parts of their music and leaned more alternative than their original pop outing. In their most recent album WOMB, the backdrop beat takes center stage with the vocals imbued seamlessly into the rhythm. The lyrics pass by like a mist and it would be rather hard to sing along to. Instead, WOMB focuses on carrying the listener along an electric stream.
The voice of lead singer Megan James will be alluring for fans of the crystal-sharp vocals of bands such as Chromatics and CHVRCHES. Her singing melds beautifully with the synth backdrop produced by multi-instrumentalist Corrin Rodrick. While James’s vocals lead each song, Rodrick’s production imbues her voice exquisitely into the flow of each song.
Overall the album is an uplifting experience that focuses on refining a harmonious beat. Each time Purity Ring releases new music, it is easy to get lost in when playing their albums on repeat. It will take a refined ear and many listens to pick out favorite songs, as each song is a similar sounding chapter in an album meant to be listened to as a whole. Purity Ring creates music to get lost in during a monotonous day at work, relieving stress on the drive home, or recuperating with your more level-headed friends. WOMB’s focus on atmospheric synth is the modern-day iteration of classical, and a breath of fresh air from the fast and loud electric sounds of today’s hits.
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