Take two synth-loving Midwesterners and a mutual admiration for minimalism, and you get the latest Moniker Records‘s Vorhees split, which comes courtesy of Gel Set and Stacian. Ethereal and otherworldly thanks to both ladies’ whispery vocals and gritty darkwave leanings, it’s a sensual, space trip that’s simultaneously enticing and disquieting.
The alias of Chicago-based artist Laura Callier, Gel Set sports a seductive, deceptively simple aesthetic. While songs like “Love On Video” provide a propulsively space-y vibe, there’s something also extremely intimidating about the hollow nature of her stripped down sound. Take tracks like “Never Never Dance” for example, as it’s tempting to feel uneasy at the discordance caused by off-kilter synths and sparse, echoey percussive elements. Empty, but not vacuous by any means.
The second half of the split is much more rambunctious, lent a sense of urgency thanks to Stacian, who’s also known as the Milwaukee-dwelling Dania Luck. Esoteric and sporting a strange feeling of alien glamour, her music is filled with a poppier sensibility that’s evident in the pulsing dance beats of “Ice Hole” and the propulsive, cosmic accents of “Airlock.”
Stream the split below.
