LITANIC MASK's Vampire finds the Portland band delivering on the promise of their gritty debut, combining a spectrum of influences into brilliant white light. The record begins with an arpeggiated electronic pulse and plunging 808, evidencing an appreciation for ATL/CHI street rap production within icy, mannered synthpop. Vocalist KENNA JEAN draws on the iconic vampire myth as a clever conceit for the impossibility of real human connection, romantic or otherwise. Jean's shapeshifting lyrics inhabit the tidal shoegaze of Anarchy, the cubist pop of the title track and the epic scale of the industrial 24. Synthetic choirs and shifting sub frequencies emerge repeatedly, serving as a worthy foil for Jean and demonstrating the band's unwillingness to adopt lowest common denominator indicators of darkness. Head technician MARK BURDEN reduces piano virtuosity to a stark, crystalline backbone, abetted by ANDREA K's inventive synth playing and percussive touches which flesh out the landscape. The sense of setting is made most literal on album closer "Watching the Snow." Jean's tone sheds the distanced agony which embodies previous tracks; she's now resigned to a beautiful numbness. The music matches her realization, at once propulsive and glacial. The kosmische meets techno groove is meant for watching the world turn white from the window of a quiet room, snow whipping everywhere. Pressed on white vinyl.
