Girlpool What Chaos Is Imaginary

Girlpool What Chaos Is Imaginary
The alluring and playful blend of Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad's voices fuse together to create a dreamy atmosphere on their third studio album, What Chaos Is Imaginary. The Los Angeles indie rock duo take a creative leap this time around. Embellished with intense organ sounds, jagged guitar chords, wistful vocals and melancholic lyrics, Girlpool can place us directly into a hazy liminal space.
The shoegaze anthem "Lucy's" starts the album off on a low point, compared to the rest. The brazen guitar strums reminiscent of '90s rock band Slint, and Tucker's orotund voice are enjoyable, but never mesh well with the rest of the record, making the experience feel synthetic.
It only gets better. "Stale Device" is smothered with twangy guitar and hypnotic drumming; "Where You Sink" and "Pretty" are welcomed by Tividad's honeyed vocals. Shining on every track she sings on, Tividad puts a unique touch to those pop punk lyrics. On "What Chaos Is Imaginary" she softly croons "I'm watching from too close / I'll take one ticket to heaven / Dress up as the Holy Ghost."
The raw acoustic ballad "Hoax and the Shrine" really flaunts the duo's talent. Stripped down to just Tucker slowly strumming and Tavidad singing in a higher register, this emotional piece takes the spotlight.
Tividad's sun-kissed vocals, on top of the slow, dreamy instrumentals all over What Chaos Is Imaginary, makes the record feel cinematic. The drone-like voice complementing the vibration of heavy buzzing bass will make you slip in and out of reality. (Anti)