– featured image courtesy of daniela galindo –
the houston-based musician mandy kim clinton creates lush pop music under the moniker pearl crush, a vessel well-suited for navigating her dual identity as a korean-american. clinton will release her debut extended play, coax me out, next month via poison moon records, a label she co-founded. “bend until u break + 원주시,” the project’s lead single and closing number, is an invigorating glimpse into clinton’s rich sonic habitat.
an elastic bass line exists in a parallel subterranean realm from the dreamy fm synths twinkling above, but clinton’s lead vocal astutely straddles the dichotomy, musing about the physical manifestations of emotional exhaustion in warm harmonies. elements of the track appropriately bend and break, be it the fractured synth motifs that chime in in between verses or clinton’s well-placed elongations of certain words or phrases.
as an added bonus, “bend until u break + 원주시” gently dissolves into a swirling instrumental coda, orchestral swells propelled out of the woodwork by intricate percussion for a moment of pure catharsis. “bend until u break + 원주시” is premiering today on the dimestore; listen in below.
Dimestore Saints 