Sasha Perera’s first album in five years is an exploration of what home means to a nomadic, shapeshifting artist. Perera Elsewhere plants her roots not in a physical place, but in her music, and in herself. Sonically, the record is a playful synth-led search for the borders of her sound. Warped drum fills, smothered trumpets and far-off piano keys become a home to return to over the course of the record. Instrumental tracks like ‘Stranger’ and the two-part ‘Der Wurm’ are vivid and satisfying, ultra-modern and somehow outside of time.
The rest of the record reshapes these elements into slippery alt-pop songs. Perera uses these songs to work through the instability of our current moment, ‘Heatwave’ and ‘Travel Lite’ use mantra-like choruses to centre themselves, and grow easy to love with each repetition. Of these vocal-driven songs, ‘Early’ and ‘Who I Am’ feel less tangible and at a distance from the listener thanks to queasy vocal effects and cryptic lyricism. They expose a potential problem in building a home within yourself. At some point, you begin to lock other people out. Still, Home remains an adventurous and worthy trip from an exciting musical polymath.
