Violets is a requiem for the new dark age. A memoir of a dying era, defined by the years of an inevitably dichotomized and isolated nation. On their long-awaited fourth full length, the duo of Greg Malcolm and Chad Mossholder move from the muggy backwoods of their early work towards the sonic approximation of icy remoteness. Created by a process of long distance file-sharing, the layers of Violets mesh together in a synchronous and fragile splendor, melding disembodied vocals, guitar rattles and crispy unpredictability to create a modern classic. The recurring theme of Violets is indeed a fascination with the human voice – voyeuristic telephone and CB conversations, the musings of a girl on dictaphone, crowd noises from anti-war rallies – these elements hover just beneath the lush and temperamental musical surface. On "Endormie", guitar plucks crystallize in real-time, while the voice of legendary Cranes vocalist Alison Shaw surfaces in frosted gasps. The result is a calming and inescapable melancholic pull. Elsewhere, the massive leitmotif of "Disconnected" evokes images of a lonely neighbor practicing his weathered 6-string in a barren room while explosions overtake his home and psyche. Twine have crafted their most highly polarizing and fully realized record to date. Violets casts a haunting shadow and its many inspirations, from the largesse of world affairs, to the minutiae of domestic life, reinforce its startling relevance in an age of cultural fracture and discontent.
