(2022) Sound of Ceres - Emerald Sea  


Review:
During their relatively brief career, New York’s Sound of Ceres have charted an intriguing evolution from the waifish dream pop of 2016’s Nostalgia for Infinity to the more abstract sci-fi leanings of 2017’s The Twin. Using the shoegaze origins of their previous band, Candy Claws, as a stepping-stone to something much more expansive, core duo K and Ryan Hover have become known for their ambitious amalgam of literary references, classical influences, and elaborate audiovisual representation. Where their previous albums germinated in concepts by great European thinkers like Marcel Proust and Thomas Mann, Sound of Ceres’ third album, Emerald Sea, has a narrative entirely of their own making. Taking musical inspiration from Gustav Holst’s iconic The Planets suite, Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé ballet, and Lex Baxter’s quirky mid-century exotica albums, the band have constructed an elaborate three-act work depicting the ephemeral relationship of two supreme deities. As voiced by Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović, the Universe comes to know itself through a succession of interactions with Venus, goddess of love and creator of matter. The latter of the two characters is sung by the band’s own K Hover (known simply as K), whose gossamer voice navigates the celestial climes as if sprung directly from them. It’s heady stuff, for sure, but Sound of Ceres have already established a panache for world-building, and their pseudo-orchestral lounge pop suites dazzle more often than not. From the puckish refrains of the lovely “Sunday Venus” to the intricate “Arm of Golden Flame,” the two characters intertwine amid fascinating compositions that are intellectually challenging but ultimately rewarding.


         


Track List:
01 - The Tower
02 - 2nd Star Shroud
03 - Sunray Venus
04 - The Glare
05 - Arm of Golden Flame
06 - Deeper Surround
07 - Enchanter
08 - Handlion’s Palace
09 - The Fawn
10 - Silent Singer


Media Report:
Genre: dream-pop, indie-pop
Country: New York, USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits


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