For lovers of femme vocal harmonies — like Grizzly Bear on a moon cycle — Emily Ritz's solo debut will squeeze itself into the gooey trenches of your heart. Pattern Recess asks gently to be heard: chorus-y guitar work, soft, mathematical drum motifs, and Ritz's stirring vocal layers prioritize vulnerability over elaborate displays of power and strength. Pattern Recess is of the body, an umbilical connection.
The first two tracks on the album carry the biggest stones, and each song after proceeds more diplomatically, as ripples from their weight. Ritz's title track instructs feelings of catharsis that will become implosive by the time "Snake Tongue" hits. "Wake up cloudy mind / Am I yours or am I mine," is the utter lack of boundary, a verbalized "I lost myself" that so many of us experience in love.
The repetitive, "Are you the ground tonight?" matches this feeling adrift when two souls overlap, two water signs recycling through yin and yang. This tenderness translates without loss into the visual companion to "Snake Tongue," a visual rendering of Ritz's ability to completely expose what flows just under the skin. Pattern Recess is an easy listening experience with deep personal ties.
(Independent)The first two tracks on the album carry the biggest stones, and each song after proceeds more diplomatically, as ripples from their weight. Ritz's title track instructs feelings of catharsis that will become implosive by the time "Snake Tongue" hits. "Wake up cloudy mind / Am I yours or am I mine," is the utter lack of boundary, a verbalized "I lost myself" that so many of us experience in love.
The repetitive, "Are you the ground tonight?" matches this feeling adrift when two souls overlap, two water signs recycling through yin and yang. This tenderness translates without loss into the visual companion to "Snake Tongue," a visual rendering of Ritz's ability to completely expose what flows just under the skin. Pattern Recess is an easy listening experience with deep personal ties.
