Evy Jane - Closer EP Review

There is a problem with the future: it's not now. Even the slightest delay proves to be too much for most of us, our plot spoiling present a testament to the notion that several sleeps to go is a passport to self-gratification loserville.

The press release which comes with this, Evy Jane's first EP for Ninja Tune, contains the word "Future" twice, implying that the duo have just arrived from 2214, as opposed to their native Vancouver. Better to say that singer Evelyn Jane Mason and producer Jeremiah Klein are proponents of the now, playing out mood music long on atmospherics, scrambled time signatures  and warped soul.

Having originally surfaced in 2012, the pair have remained true to their DIY and staunchly lo-fi ethic despite the high profile release, especially on 'Nothing So Great', whose blurry,  God-knows-what after the night before vibe is vintage Goldfrapp. Opener 'Closer' (Huh..) is vintage Prince gone dream pop, gently floating synths backing Mason's trilling voice, the whole thing a prayer to confusion and hazy backlit joy.

Having first united over a love of bass music, R&B and pop, the pair underline their love/hate relationship with all three on 'Sosoft', its bittersweet undertones, plaintive harmony and broken beats sitting nowhere between the three but in all of them, elemental. Like over-exposed film, it's an imperfect song for their imperfect world. If the general spirit is of blissful detachment, the EP's final chapter, however, proves what can be done when they choose to not merely float. 'Worry Heart' feels intimate, Mason playful vocals across laidback fragments of dub; gorgeous, immediate evidence of where this train could go, it's easy to speculate that it will remain an experiment and nothing more.

There is no reason to live for tomorrow if you can slide into it head first today; 'Closer' is the sound of Evy Jane submerging you in what the next few minutes might feel like, time that proves to be exquisitely well spent, whichever dimension you're in.

4/5

Andy Peterson