EMÆL

With their newest single, EMÆL solidify themselves at the avant-garde of several genres. Their “indie chamber pop” tagline is appropriate, given how seamlessly these Southern Californians blend the alien and the earthly. This cut’s use of staggered staccato and bouncy modulations coincides with glitchy beats and electronics, blurring the lines between real and synthetic instruments in enchantingly discordant 15/4 rhythm structure. The sheer breadth of ideas and auras this track utilizes is impressive enough, but EMÆL’s aesthetic blend of contemporary classical, folktronica and alternative R&B elevates their output to a mini-odyssey. Add to that harmonious vocal reprisals, poetic lyrics and orchestral cadences, and the five-piece is set to push boundaries and turn heads in the coming year. - Max Heilman (RIFF Mag)