Dig Up The Earth And Crawl Inside

Lower Dens “Candy”

There’s an odd tension at the core of Lower Dens’ new album Nootropics, as though the songs simultaneously evoke claustrophobia and the feeling of being all alone in a wide open space. It’s an isolating, lonely sound, but they find beauty and drama in it. “Candy,” a cut that reminds me of mid-Seventies Brian Eno, is the closest they come to a traditional rock song in terms of structure and affect, but it’s far too floaty to convey corporeal physicality. Jana Hunter’s voice is the key here – she sounds nearly as haunted and pained as Portishead’s Beth Gibbons or Beach House’s Victoria Legrand, but with less presence. That’s not a bad thing, though – I like that they can imply ghostliness without getting heavy handed with reverb.

Buy it from Amazon.