James has always favored evocative abstractions in her lyrics, but there’s less to grasp here than before. With every layer of polish shellacked onto their core sound, the people behind Purity Ring’s genre tropes and dark poetics grow increasingly obscured. Simple compositions and evocative lyrics were integral parts of Purity Ring, and without them, the music feels more like a glittery spectacle than an immersive pop world. When James breathily sings, “How lucky you are to be so unlucky, breaking onto the rooftops over Waikiki,” amid clouds of effects and reversed synths, it sounds both convoluted and ill-fitting. The touches of 2010s nostalgia are charming, but less so when “nthngsfine” and “unlucky” evoke an overproduced and undercooked Shrines. James has said that the title track “has been haunting us for eight straight years,” and its bouncy trance chords and glowing piano clearly recall the euphoric rushes on another eternity. Some songs even sound outright regressive, which isn’t always bad. Two years after WOMB, the graves EP is firmly rooted in the same subtle reconfiguration that comes with each new Purity Ring release. WOMB, their moodier third album, was in many ways a beefed-up return to form-girded with rich atmospherics, heavier synths, and processed vocal hooks on par with contemporary chart-toppers. Roddick added fluorescent EDM synths and stately piano to his 808-driven rhythms James began experimenting with a more explicitly pop-oriented cadence and elocution. In 2015, their sophomore album, another eternity, seemed meant to counter any accusation that the 11 songs on 2012’s Shrines were all variations on one great idea. That’s not to say Purity Ring have never tried new things.
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