As I try figuring out whether we’re still supposed to call the label “Tranquility Tapes” — what with the fact that this debut LP from Brooklyn pop duo Imperial Topaz is the label’s first foray into the terrifying and beautiful world of vinyl after a whopping 55 cassette issues, all of which are 100% gone, by the way — I can’t help the nagging suspicion that our time would be better spent in the frozen chrysalis of a track like “Full of Grace.” Yes, there’s something inherently icy about it all: Caroline Teagle’s voice sparkling like ice crystal atop expansive planes of synth that roll out for ever, as the endless tundra. But what’s amazing about Imperial Topaz, and indeed their whole new album, is the fact that the music still manages to move like it does. The sparse but powerful percussive elements of Zachary Zierden pump the song’s blood through its veins, combining with Teagle’s voice and its inherent emotional resonance to give tracks like this one a surprising and welcoming warmth. It glows from the inside-out, a radiance that beams through the minor key with an unmistakable optimism. It’s how the words “Away, away, away” can actually seem to be saying “Closer, closer, closer;” keeping its distance while beckoning for an inescapable intimacy.
Full of Grace by Imperial Topaz drops direct from Tranquility (Vinyl) in ten days (February 21)!!
• Imperial Topaz: http://imperialtopaz.tumblr.com
• Tranquility Tapes: http://tranquilitytapes.blogspot.com
More about: Imperial Topaz
