ACRAEA – Clockshifter (2021)
ACRAEA continue the sci-fi story of their last two releases with ‘Clockshifter’. As part of a storytelling concept album, the single picks up the tale of an engineer who clones her partner’s lover to see who this person is. In this track, we meet the clone and learn more about her while the relationship between the clone and engineer grows.
This rather intriguing tale, which will be released in full in 2022, comes from the minds of Leora Mandel and Samn Johnson. The synth-pop duo centres their music around playful vocals, glittering synths and a touch of field recordings. After meeting at the Interlochen Art Academy, they continued working together when they moved to New York and diving into careers outside of their musical collaboration.
The synths that open ‘Clockshifter’ tumble through your ears like a babbling brook. There is a great depth to the melody that invites you to sink into the movement and allows the vocals to really shine. The rippling synth movement gains a light covering of chattering tones that turns into a gentle tone that breezes through your senses like a soft wind. It is a rather experimental movement that highlights the avant-garde nature of the duo’s music. While idiosyncratic, the movement of the melody is masterful as it enhances the story of the lyrics and carefully tugs at your emotions.
Mandel’s vocals twirl and dance against the soft synths as she draws you into the story of the track. There is a poetic flow to the lyrics that drives the storytelling movement of the track. While you don’t need to know the overall context of the track to fall into the lyrics, having some idea of the general story does help. Mandel’s vocals bring the lyrics to life with a glittering beauty as her voice dips into the warmth of wonder and a connection that you never expected. Later in the track, the music gains tempo and the vocals rise to meet this.
ACRAEA continue their interesting story with ‘Clockshifter’ through the single’s experimental yet captivating tones. The melody is rather avant-garde as it shifts from one movement to another with chameleon ease. Resting over the music are Mandel’s vocals that tug at your emotions while bringing the poetry of the lyrics to life.
Find out more about ACRAEA on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
