Ramona Lisa
Arcadia
April 28/29 2014 (Pannonica/Terrible Records)
7/10
Words: Alison Mack
If the artist's name here doesn't initially ring any bells, those familiar with the sound of Chairlift and the charismatic presence and acrobatic vocals of Caroline Polachek, then this solo vehicle of its frontwoman may well strike a welcoming chord.
“It’s the most personal record I’ve ever made, yet at the same time, it was created in a digital non-space,” says the woman behind the 'Ramona Lisa' name, of this solo debut of lo-fi electronica - produced by Ms P on her laptop. Despite the hyperbabble of the 'non-space', 'Arcadia' floats pleasingly enough across its own ambient space, as she works MIDI samples and delivers vocals straight through the laptop’s mic. The result is a collection of 11 songs that are both intimate, yet also take on wider plains - on occasion in a literal sense in titles like 'Getaway World' and 'I Love Our World' that were recorded in various places and at different times, from hotel rooms to airport terminals.
The opening title track paints on a broad canvas and emphases layers of synthetic space over which Polachek's intoned vocal plays like stones skimmed into a running stream; playing in partnership to the actual running water that is to be heard on 'Hissing Pipes At Dawn'. Lead single (out in June) 'Dominic' is "about a sweet fling that quietly finds its own way out the door without having to be asked, like a brief stop at a green oasis," is her own description.
If you think this album is a Chairlift lite, you would be off the mark, although it is not without its moments - 'Lady's Got Gills', and 'Backwards and Upwards', for example, echo a certain Polachek/Wimberly concoction (Patrick Wimberly does take mixing credits on the album). Overall it feels an experimental work of contrasts, combinations, intimations, undercurrents and, times, an almost other-worldly depth of an electronic Arcadia.
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