Born Gold

After Edmonton indie electro combo Gobble Gobble branched off into the sleek R&B furrows of Born Gold and Purity Ring, Cecil Frena (aka Born Gold) relied solely upon that genre's effervescing novelty for his first two releases. On his third LP, I Am an Exit, Frena pares back the '90s pop production sound, filling the void with quirky, personality-laden elements. Stretching out on tracks like the stripped-down "Hunger" and the synth-pop-infused "No Reflection," Cecil allows his songs to come across as catchier and more digestible. On Duran Duran-meets-Richard X banger "I Am the Bent Blade" and sleek/noisy album closer "Butcher," Frena's melodies are more anthemic, while his beats approach fearlessness. Although Frena has opened up his sound considerably, tracks like "Gasoline Bath" and "Boy Foundry" follow the staid formula used by too many pop producers at the moment, making I Am an Exit a nice transitory album for a progressively blossoming artist.