霏 – FLUID EP REVIEW
'slutgirl' might be dead but Noface Records’ chanteuse has since lived on with her new mononym 霏 and a debut EP simply called “FLUID” that was put out just last August 30. The more observant among our readers must have quite easily noticed that both the artist name and EP title are made up of just one word each, something I’m admittedly a bit more used to seeing in a lot of minimal techno productions that I’m largely into. “FLUID” isn’t a techno record by any stretch but it is a minimal electronic effort just the same as 霏 sings on top of haunting synths and hypnotic beats over a span of four tracks with a total runtime of just 10 minutes; less is more as they say. The artwork gracing the EP is also just as minimal which can be warranted with either a casual observation wherein the two black zigzag lines can be interpreted as liquid waves with the EP name trying to make its way in between (thus, fluid) or a slightly more niche take wherein those very same two black zigzag lines can be viewed as a rather sly reference to the cult TV series “Twin Peaks” as it is no secret that the main person behind NFR is into the said show to the point where he even made an EP paying homage to it just last year.
“FLUID” opens with “Violet Eyes” which, despite being only more than a minute long, isn’t a mere intro track at all but a full song with synths that recall Italian film scorers Fabio Frizzi and Giorgio Tucci’s theme for Lucio Fulci’s “Zombi 2”. 霏 then slightly warps her own vocals and adds a little more propulsion with “There’s No Place for You in Hell”, a ditty that fans of Chromatics, Night Sins and fellow leather-clad purveyors of darkwave would instantly dig. The menacing vibe surrounding “FLUID” becomes even more apparent with “Target Acquired” where 霏’s vocals carry an almost specter-like quality while an ominous drone plays on. “Omen” caps off the entire EP with a potent combination of synthwave, thumping bass and 霏 singing as if from the other end of a low-frequency radio transmission.
霏’s “FLUID” EP is a short yet sweet one but it would be interesting to see how she would fare if ever she decides to put out a longer record anytime soon. One thing’s for sure though: “FLUID” should be part of your list of spooky jams this year.
LISTEN TO THE EP RIGHT HERE:
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/990130/sets/fluid
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