orion lake has been making music out of New Jersey for a relatively short time, with the oldest release on bandcamp being from November of last year. She sure doesn’t show her age. Out of the gate, she has been releasing music that puts most first singles to shame, “John Krasinski” being a standout. Even still, angelface raises the bar higher, with improved production and a stronger sense of songwriting.
The whole project takes on a very modern style, a product of late-night cellphone glow. The laid-back, almost drone-like vocals and hazy synths speak to the detached and blunt lyricism of the EP. It’s a product of its time, not as something that will feel dated, but instead that of a touchstone of modern culture. Granted, only time can truly put that sense to test, but mark my words.
angelface opens with “dog,” a diversely applicable song that wouldn’t feel out of place in either a booming club setting, nor a dark apartment room with a lone resident. Immediately this establishes one of the artist’s greatest strength: the ability to seamlessly incorporate elements of pop, trap, fifth wave emo, and EDM. While none of these genres are wildly apart from each other, it’s still a lot to balance, something orion lake does with aplomb. The lyricism in “dog,” a yearning ballad of love and lust in spite of one’s one well-being, carries with it a different implication than the saccharine boy’s club of emo-inspired poetry flooding a gamut of genres right now.
The affection is likened to a dog and their owner, as the song’s namesake implies, which brings with it a context that’s wildly different and more forward than the high school love letters. Sensual language and delivery, supplemented by a catchy chorus, open the EP on a high note. The mood shifts as “eros” drifts in, the next song being brighter than the grit and slight bite of “dog.” orion lake’s vocals really start to shine in this track, replete with harmonies and a more open range.
Next song, “starfire,” was released as a single before the EP and it isn’t hard to see why. The longest song on the project, it barely reaches the edge of two and half minutes, building off a simple piano melody into a great pop chorus. It levels out with some really well placed and sparse guitar work, taking the listener back into the chorus.
The beauty of “starfire” is in its simplicity. The synths aren’t the fog of the last two songs on the album, opting for the sharper, more piano-like tone. It lets the song keep building and dropping, if only slightly. Penultimate track “exit route” opens like something out of Blade Runner, the futuristic sound laid within Orion Lake’s style coming to the forefront. The electronic vacancy benefits the conflicted lyricism, and allows for a great percussion kick-in that lasts for a tasteful amount of time within the song itself.
Up until this point, all the songs on the EP have melded together well, despite their individual differences. I appreciate orion lake’s choice to end angelface on a different style than that of the preceding music, seeing as how “the future is not that scary” is an acoustic track. Interestingly, I find myself being really impressed with the guitar in this track, even though it can’t be more than a couple chords. Once again that benefit of simplicity plays in the artist’s favor.
Another standout aspect of the song are the male backing vocals from fellow New Jersey artist (and audio engineer of the project) Staten. Their voices work really well together, especially when Staten is exhibiting a more laid-back tone from his typical delivery on his projects. Seeing as how orion lake is set to feature more than once on his upcoming project All People Come Apart, I’m excited to see the pair work more in the future. The whole song is a small drop of quiet after the lush waves of sound in the songs prior, accentuated by some smartly soft sampling, almost as if a television was on in the background during the recording. It gives the song a homey feeling of comfort, even while confronted with the existentialist affection of the lyrics.
One can only hope that angelface is indicative of an orion lake that is here to stay, seeing as how exceptional of a first outing it is. It’s easy to see this as the wave of the future, taking the emo influences that pop has had in the past couple of years to a more acute level, while maintaining the flow and aspects of a dance beat. If that turns out to be the case, it won’t be hard to trace orion lake as a progenitor of the new pop, and angelface as the boot that kicked the door in.
Check it out here