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2LP
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HMS 023LP
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"The mystical drone-folklorist Jon Porras introduced us to the luminous sound of The Slaves, so we thought it fitting that he should expound upon their radiant shoegazing heaviness. Here speaks Mr. Porras: 'A shadow moves beneath the water. Ocean on Ocean: two abysmal surfaces echoing into one another. Mutually reflecting an endless geologic score to a post-apocalyptic litany. Planes of ambivalence obliterated by light, voices eclipsed by devotional low end, synthesized stereography spiraling from an eternal core. Hovering above the weighted disposition of doom and below the consolation of shoegaze, the duo transmits a burdened grace that unfolds like a radiant mammal writhing in black water. We discover an object heavy and obtuse until placed into the sea. Lines of light swell and dissipate behind hushed lyrics. Feedback and white noise ebb and flow, the mammal's breath hollowed, tumbling below the surface. The hum offset and displaced by water that surrounds. Holographic accord materialized by invalidated hopefulness. We are unsure and skeptical of what this optimism holds. What lies waiting at the depths carved between these two reflective surfaces? Ocean on Ocean implies a tangible province exists between these mirrored planes. A staircase built from reflective feedback, extending horizontally into bliss. A bliss that is fleeting and simultaneously petrified in the present. A paradox realized by the duo's distillations of urgent ambiance and luminescent melancholy. Conjuring environments that billow out from instrumental restraint, Ocean on Ocean is an exercise in disciplined abstraction.' The Slaves are Barbara Kinzle and Birch Cooper, who hail from Portland, Oregon and who have released other works on Digitalis and Paradigms to considerable acclaim, drawing favorable comparisons to the likes of Grouper, Slowdive, Earth, and Barn Owl."
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LP
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DIGI 042LP
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Portland, Oregon duo, The Slaves, only have a handful of releases under their belt so far, but it doesn't mean they haven't left their mark. Operating in the void somewhere between shoegaze and doom, this is music that is stretched to its breaking point and epic in the true sense of the word. Barbara Kinzle and Birch Cooper know how to fit within each other's movements, piling on in all the right places and knowing when to pull back. Spirits of the Sun shows their singular focus at its peak. These four dark and lush dreamscapes stretch their claws, dig in, and never let go. The Slaves have no qualms about who or what they are. The formula is simple: guitar, synth, voice. Kinzle's synth-work is where the backbone begins, but Cooper's caustic guitar raids are always lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to disrupt the harmonic elegance. It's these layers of smeared guitar chords and synth notes that add so much depth to each piece. It feels like you're being swallowed by a sonic abyss and it's only Kinzle's narcotic, sublimely towering vocals that save you in the end. Throughout Spirits of the Sun, there is a dichotomy pulling in opposite directions. The Slaves create music that is simultaneously beautiful and grotesque. There's a twisted, dark side that is consistently being overshadowed by sounds that are overwhelming and majestic. Each aspect pushes and pulls, but the beauty and the symmetry win out in the end. By the time the album closes with the soaring "Born Into Light," it is statuesque and firmly entrenched in the deepest reaches of your psyche. Spirits of the Sun is a force and The Slaves will guide you toward your own oblivion. Mastered by Brad Rose and cut to vinyl at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. Artwork by Birch Cooper. Limited edition of 500 copies.
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