PRICE:
$15.00
LOW STOCK LEVEL
1-2 Weeks
ARTIST
TITLE
Broken Devotion
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
UNSEEN 009CD UNSEEN 009CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
2/12/2016

On their second album, Broken Devotion, Portland-based duo Mint Julep instill their lush and gauzy, synth-centric brand of pop music with a raw and powerful emotionalism. The follow-up to their 2011 debut Save Your Season (VG 001CD) (praised as "melodically sophisticated and dreamy " by the NME), Broken Devotion came to life over the course of four years, with Mint Julep reaching an unprecedented level of lyrical precision while easing into more lavishly textured, intricately layered arrangements. Throughout Broken Devotion, multi-instrumentalist and producer Keith Kenniff (also known for his work as ambient indie-electronic act Helios) and his wife Hollie Kenniff (Mint Julep's vocalist and lyricist) explore the many bright and dark dimensions of love, a tension that's masterfully embodied on the album's title-track. Urgent yet ethereal, "Broken Devotion" blends driving rhythms and hazy guitar tones as Hollie's hypnotic vocal work achingly captures the unraveling of a romance. Lead single "White Hot Heart," meanwhile, emerges as an airy and shimmering, synth-laced number that's timeless in melody. Also featuring a gorgeously sprawling cover of When in Rome's late-'80s new wave hit "The Promise," Broken Devotion finds Mint Julep shifting from the frenetic energy of beat-driven tracks like "Incinerate" to the downtempo drama of songs like "Slow Spiral" with an uncommonly delicate grace.