When The Anti-Sun Has Come

Fernette “Lowlands”

A few weeks ago I went to a show in support of the release of the second issue of the new music magazine Antics, which was booked by the magazine’s co-founder Tatiana Tenreyro. Fernette was the first band on the bill, and when they started playing I was stunned by their distinctive style and presence – it was like seeing Nico sing at a piano bar, but with robot aliens attacking on the periphery – and then I was mesmerized by the songs.

Danyelle Taylor, the singer, has the build and bearing of a 90s fashion model, and a vocal style not far off from Victoria Legrand from Beach House. She seemed intense and emotional, but also aloof and unknowable. She was flanked by Eli Dubois on piano and guitar, which he played both with a casual jazziness, and Rashid Ahmad, who fiddled around with mysterious electronic gear to yield sounds that had the abrasive tones of Autechre but the painterly, poetic quality of Kevin Shields’ guitar in My Bloody Valentine. I’ve heard a lot of things, but I’ve never heard anything quite like this contrast of slick, accomplished, and traditional musicality and total chaos.

The electronic noise aspect of the band is dialed down a bit in the studio recording of “Lowlands,” which was part of the live set. Ahmad’s sounds had a way of cutting through the other musical elements on stage, but in the studio it’s more like a backdrop. His sounds emote as much as Taylor’s voice, if not more so in some moments. The overall effect is odd and profound, like you’re hearing this woman sing out to a glitchy digital ghost that cannot sing back, but can make its presence known.

Buy it from Bandcamp.