amber bain has made a spectacular first impression in 2015. after releasing pools to bathe in, her debut ep as the japanese house, this past spring, bain returns with a follow-up, clean, out this friday via dirty hit records. her second ep already shows marked improvements as a songwriter and an increased confidence in her aesthetic, one that allows bain to carefully venture into the more dynamic realms explored in “cool blue.” on “sugar pill,” the forth and final cut off of clean, bain briefly strips down to sparse acoustic piano before ushering in a familiar palette of surging, agitated synth tones. but it’s the quick, flittering motifs popping out of the song’s rich texture that define its tone; their sudden absence underscores the abrupt turn in bain’s lyrics, when similes and metaphors for hollowness segue into a much more pointed depiction of isolation. take a listen to “sugar pill” below.
Dimestore Saints 