AZURE RAY

Azure Ray: Orenda Fink, Maria Taylor.

A marked departure from earlier Ray releases, HOLD ON LOVE finds the exquisite vocal duo of Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor--working under the guidance of producer Eric Bachmann (Crooked Fingers, Archers of Loaf)--adding a bevy of real and electronic instruments, to their usual lonesome acoustic sound, with an almost-mainstream result. The Sarah McLachlan-style glossy beats and strings of "New Resolution" and the bouncy sunshine of "If You Fall" will have the pair's melancholic fan base wiping away their tears in disbelief. There's even a merry harpsichord break in the sweeping "Nothing Like a Song."

Not to worry, though, as "The Drinks We Drank Last Night" and the title track return to achingly fragile business as usual. With their soft yet powerful-as-prayer voices caressing each other over ghostly acoustic guitars, theremins, and distantly echoing beats, Azure Ray aren't about to lose their twin crowns as queens of slowcore, but thanks to Bachmann, they sound ready to occasionally leave the castle.

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