Litanic Mask “u release me”

07 Mar 2014 — Henry Schiller

On Litanic Mask’s “u release me” the Portland band initially seem to be gesturing at a chopped-to-bits trap synth reinterpretation of the surf rock classic “Misirlou.” Ultimately, each jolt of the fractured opening riff kaleidoscopes off into shimmering, honeyed wallpapers of sound, patterend with sub rosa nods to more experimental fare. The dissonant bending of synth chords in the song's chorus reminds me of a similar technique employed on Beach House’s Teen Dream, but Litanic Mask aim less for the elusive emotional pangs of digital folk and far more comfortable in the blissful honeymoon era of a marriage between post-dub wetwork and early-90s OMD.

Kenna Jean inflicts palpable ounces of mythology and personal turmoil onto Mark Burden and Andrea Kulish’s landscape of synthesized percussion and piano work. The trio manipulates traditional synth-pop machinery into a swampy digital ruin of hip-hop, sending out interstellar winks to northern English pop. "u release me" is taken from Litanic Mask's upcoming Vampire LP, for which Jean has drawn on iconic vampire myths (probably more Vlad the Impaler than Anne Rice) in crafting her lyrics. Vampire is out April 8 on Audraglint.