Wholeness & Separation

Halou

Propulsive and funky drums percolate in the distance, while atmospheric pianos and other acoustic instruments hang in the air. Amidst sweetly and intentionally smeared electronics, breathy and reverb-laden vocals make you want to both have sex and fall asleep at the same time. The warm and inviting vocals of Rebecca Coseboom will please more than just those folks who can't get enough of early Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, or latter day His Name is Alive. Too bad the Matrix film franchise ran itself aground so quickly: these delightful and atmospheric industrial pop songs seem tailor made for their sheen of vaguely intellectual, futuristic soul-seeking. Some tunes on Halou's fourth album do seem like they could make their way to the radio, but most are far too weird, evocative, and ambient (that soundtrack analogy wasn't used just to get sci-fi geeks interested). There's a lot going on within these delightfully goth nursery rhymes. --Mike McGonigal

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