A bit of disclosure: I’ve never listened to Purity Ring before today. Most accurately, I may have heard a single at some point, but I’ve never had the thought, “I should listen to Purity Ring today.” Further, the band’s sound isn’t much like the majority of what I listen to. However, I’ve seen the band’s name floating around enough in the last few weeks (including a recent discovery of the single “push pull” as a free track on the Google Play store) that I’m willing to branch out. After all, 4AD has given us some incredibly talented musicians in the past, with associated acts such as St. Vincent, Bon Iver, and The National.
another eternity begins with the very electronic sounds I’d expected to hear, but not disappointingly so. Megan James is clearly a talented vocalist, although as the album plays out her voice begins to feel misappropriated, and the deep bass of the opening track, “heartsigh,” is much more fulfilling than I’d anticipated. The first half of the album offers several tracks that feel, effectively, very similar. The pattern is broken with “stranger than earth,” which unfortunately exploits some of the easiest patterns of pop/electronic music, although the quality of the instruments continues to impress, even if their use is somewhat conventional.
While many pop albums feel inexplicably shallow and meaningless, Purity Ring’s music feels more substantial, even if it is, ultimately, somewhat lacking in lyrical depth. Purity Ring’s simple instrumentation reminds the listener of the potential value of minimalism, particularly with the types of sounds found on another eternity, but the latter half of the album in particular seems unaware that it walks a muddled line between stylistic minimalism and an almost lazy simplicity of composition.
Fans of electronic music in particular should be impressed with Purity Ring, who will hopefully continue to produce quality synth tracks like “heartsigh” and “flood on the floor.” Although the album is miles ahead of many sub-par pop releases, another eternity still lacks enough substance to make it more than only a slightly memorable electronic release.
The Closing Track 