This Canadian duo composed their spectral electro-pop debut by writing tracks back and forth via e-mail over hundreds of miles. That sense of distance permeates the music: dark, mutable, likably repetitive synth whirr that recalls artfully creepy bands like the Knife. Instrumentalist Corin Roddick makes atonal friction, and singer Megan James' piercing vocals balance the ominously visceral ("Dig holes in me with wooden carved trowels," she commands on "Grandloves") and the atmospherically delighted (on "Obedear" we learn she "came down over the sleeping mountains"). You can be sure her feet never touched the ground.
Listen to 'Shrines':
