High Aura'd, “Sanguine Features”

Sometimes this track is so quiet that if you aren't listening with your headphones turned all the way up you'd think it was silent. (Headphones, by the way, are essential.) It doesn't start out that quiet, but instead with ringing bells, but instead of ever-rising in a typical climax-oriented sphere, High Aura'd prefers to modulate it's presence and impact, adding mystery and intrigue to the otherwise mellow song. The silence is attention-grabbing, which is not usually a term you use with starry drone, but it really does stir you into attention. The video, by Omar Mashaal, has a similar arc: starting off in a world of pink and purple washes, we eventually learn that there is an actual human subject to the video. Who she is and why she is there is never revealed, but her presence is captivating.

High Aura'd recently released the record Sanguine Features on Bathetic. Grip one today.