We’ve written a bit about Spectrum Spools in the past. As an imprint of the notoriously noisy Editions Mego, and as the figurative offspring fathered and still being dutifully breast-fed by curator and Emeralds member John Elliott, you wouldn’t be faulted for expecting the label to fit, at least on a superficial level, rather neatly into two, admittedly large categories — “electronic” and “experimental.” And so far, with releases by such artists as Motion Sickness of Time Travel, Hive Mind, and Drainolith, Spectrum Spools has mostly lived up to those expectations.
But screw expectations. Elliott didn’t plant those expectations directly into your head. As he remarks in an interview with FACT: “I generally just try to put out music that I’m naturally attracted to, or more importantly feels natural to me.” In other words, un-cock that eyebrow and and un-glare those skeptical eyeballs, readers; Parthenon by PLVS VLTRA is getting released on June 12, despite the fact that it’s essentially, according to Elliott, a “straight-up pop album.”
Going even further, Parthenon is a straight-up pop album with alluring (because “sexy” sounds misogynist and creepy) female vocals. Toko Yasuda assumed her PLVS VLTRA moniker following the disbandment of Enon, and in between her role as touring keyboardist for St. Vincent. She’s been formally involved in the independent music scene for roughly 20 years, so if you’ve been following her throughout her career, first: stop. That’s called stalking. Second: you’re probably wondering why she hasn’t pursued the solo thing before. Answer: I don’t know. Head on over to the Chocolate Grinder to get a sense of the rather stark contrast between Parthenon and the rest of the Spectrum Spools catalog. A sign of things to come for the label? No objections here.
Parthenon tracklisting:
A1. Flowers to Bees
A2. The Level
A3. Sweet Tooth
A4. Yume
A5. Parthenon
B1. World in Words
B2. Fender Benderz
B3. Like Spice
B4. Sunkissed
B5. Birthday Party
B6. Closer
• PLVS VLTRA: http://soundcloud.com/plvs-vltra
• Spectrum Spools: http://editionsmego.com/releases/spectrum-spools
[Photo: Andrew Huff]
More about: PLVS VLTRA
