Primes: Facades and Pink Forms

Vancouver-based group Primes — consisting of snythesist/vocalist Tanya Pea, bassist/vocalist Jack “JJD” Duckworth, and synthesist Erik West — is back with eleven tracks for its sophomore release, Facades and Pink Forms. With this release, technology’s heavy influence has not loosened its grip on Primes.

Facades and Pink Forms is not a complex album, and attempts to indulge the endless possibilities that computers and peripheral software foster. The result is a futuristic rendition of emotional dance music. If robots cared about prose and clusters of sounds, they would listen to this album.

A spoken introduction informs listeners that “…even before I saw you, you were in my dreams.” Following the hopeless romantic plea is the title track. In it, Pea speaks while a consistent beat chirps in the background and a distant guitar leads to a rotating chorus. D sustains “ohs” and angelically sings. “Weapons Tanks Fire” quickly follows and pieces the songs together.

The first half of Facades and Pink Forms is entertaining and consists of several outstanding loops. But with lengthy tracks averaging over four minutes, the 4/4-meter sounds become repetitive. Overall, the tracks are habitual in sound and jagged in flow. Anticlimactic track “Convert What Was” brings everything to an abrupt halt.

- Adrian Finiak

Primes: www.primes-music.com
Postfact Records: www.postfact.com