PURE MUSIC

Description

On Pure Music, the new album by Strange Ranger released on Fire Talk, the band indulges in an obsession with Loveless, but they infiltrate any shoegaze comparison with openings to disco, house, and experimental pop. The inspiration from Talk Talk's "Way Out" features a morose saxophone, while "She's On Fire" is just a rock song until right after the halfway mark, when the drums throb, the snare snaps, and suddenly, you’re in a sweaty pit of swaying bodies dancing as the double vocals harmonize, "I would have thought the club beat could take me somewhere." Pure Music embodies that manic state through interstitial interludes woven with YouTube samples that connect each track to the next, overwhelming the listener in its world, one that rewards catharsis. The alienated might gaze endlessly through windows, unable to bridge the gap between the self and the destabilizing chaos of the world beyond. Crossing the East River by train early in the morning, you witness thousands of individual stories, each contained in a glowing square of light, and it’s comforting to know that soon, these strangers will emerge from their solitude to join the city. "Music helps us transcend the feeling of being alienated or trapped by the world," the band says. "I want the experience of listening to pure music to be euphoric." Recorded by the band, mixed by Al Carlson, and mastered by Joe LaPorta.